Chester Gillette

Chester Gillette
Born
Chester Ellsworth Gillette

(1883-08-09)August 9, 1883
DiedMarch 30, 1908(1908-03-30) (aged 24)
Auburn Prison, New York, US
Criminal statusExecuted by electric chair
MotiveThe victim revealed that she was pregnant and began pressuring Gillette to marry her
ConvictionFirst degree murder
Criminal penaltyDeath
Details
VictimsGrace Brown, 20
DateJuly 11, 1906

Chester Ellsworth Gillette (August 9, 1883 – March 30, 1908) was an American convicted murderer who became the basis for the fictional character Clyde Griffiths in Theodore Dreiser's novel An American Tragedy. The novel, and thus Gillette's case indirectly, was adapted in turn for the 1931 film An American Tragedy and the 1951 film A Place in the Sun.