Thomas H. Swope

Thomas Hunton Swope (October 21, 1827 – October 3, 1909) was an American real estate magnate and philanthropist in Kansas City, Missouri. His death in 1909 became the focus of one of the most publicized murder trials in the early 20th century. In his youth, Swope was an avid reader known as "bookish and delicate".

Career Swope was a Yale graduate with money to invest. After living in several states, he eventually made his way to Missouri when he moved to St. Louis and began working in real estate. He came west in 1855 as the Kansas Territory opened and settled in Kansas City in 1857. Swope began purchasing property here and would later go on to become the largest individual land owner in Kansas City. Mr. Swope was called "Colonel" Swope, but the title was honorary and not from military service. 18,000 Kansas Citians celebrated opening day for Swope Park with the "Colonel" wandering around the crowd while they listened to a two-hour speech honoring his benefactions. Swope was known to be mild-mannered and self-conscious, The frugal millionaire commuted daily by streetcar to his downtown Kansas City office in the New England Life Building until the month before his death. On October 3, 1909, just 18 days short of his 82nd birthday, Col. Swope died suddenly in his sister-in-law's home with Dr. Hyde in attendance, the aftermath of a perplexing, brief and violent illness. Swope's body lay in state at the Kansas City Public Library where thousands of mourners paid their respects. The body of Thomas Hunton Swope was exhumed by coroner Ludvig Hektoen and an autopsy performed. At his request, Walter Stanley Haines conducted a postmortem examination of the internal organs and reported that Thomas Hunton Swope's body contained lethal amounts of both strychnine and cyanide. On appeal, the verdict was overturned on procedural grounds. Three more trials, seven years and a quarter of a million dollars later, the charges against Hyde were dropped and he was released.

Eight and a half years after his death, Col. Thomas Swope was laid to rest in Swope Park. On April 8, 1918, he was buried high on a hill amid a forest of trees, overlooking his gift to Kansas City. His remains lie beneath a Greek temple of white granite, guarded by a pair of stone lions.