On March 28, 1944, a fire, believed to have been deliberately set, destroyed the New Amsterdam Hotel in San Francisco, California. It was the worst fire in that city since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, killing 22 and injuring 27. On August 3, 1944, George Holman, a 47-year old cafe proprietor, was found guilty in San Francisco of 22 counts of murder in the first degree for setting the fire. On August 15, he was sentenced to 22 concurrent life terms in prison.