The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-03-28
PHILIP H|CHBORN
COMMITS SUICIDE
Shoots Hims elf With
Army Revolver and
Dies Instantly.
WAS DESPONDENT
AND INUNDATED
Son Of Late Rear-Admiral Had
Never Recovered From Shock
OF Wife's Elopcment With
Horace Wylic, a Domestic
Tragedy Which Stirred
Capital.

ahhinston. March a7.-Phiip :
hirhhoFn. a young lawyer. and son oil
inc late Rcar-AdiniraI u,ckborn
hlicd himself tonight in dcspondcncy
ana humiliation over tire clopemcn,
more thsn year ago OF his wife
!-1.hhre lioyt Hichborn. with Hornc e
j. W!iie. prominent washington AZ
t"rncy. lilo sho; himself ia IN. mead
Win an automatic army revolver. and
"icd almost Instantly.
iichbo!n went for dinner 10 The
rome ~ his sister. Mrs. Paul S Pear
san Jic thmily was out. ana shortly
'Ncr MIS- arrival servants heard sho:
IN his room. Tho door vas broken
IN ami he was found dead
On a table Hichborn had left note
st'ieo TIC coroner took charge OF
-. and !tr contents may be made
known II I'll. families consent
\ person who claimed Ia have acc,
70 note declared part OF IT'S text was:
an not 10 blame FOR this: think
hhf" icst my mind" Tho remainder
Whlch waH brief. war saii Ia be de-
N"tGd 10 II mention OF hia little boy.
Death By his own hac.. adds one
moro chapter 10 IL d!streasi.s; domcatic
Hugely. which shocked the most cS-
.iasiHc socscty OF Washington and sen,
ltt horTuw ana humiliation 10 thu
homes of some OF the capitars most
prominent families.
Inc frst !utimation IN the public
Pat All w1s not well in the iichhoru
family came IN December, 1910 when
Mrs. li!choorn and SyIIe d!sappcn FED
at tho same time. Mrs Hichborn's
FAMILY Indignantly denied stor,er of
an eiopenent. and declared she was :
ht'ient IN u private hospital, broken
down by the death OF her father
ifcnry 81. Hoyt. former soiicitor-cen
eral OF the United States, and at the
Tine Of hls death counsellor .or the
Department Of State.
In thnt winter the couple. travel
jns rs Mr.. and Mrs. Henry Wise, were
rcpo'tcd Oh tho Nile. later IN Paris
and on tho Riviera. both families
e'ouNy denied persistent s,or.es OF
'heir whereabouts and no ycriHcation
OF tho facts WAS had until last Janu-
AIRY. when Hichhorn sued for a divorce.
That action never came 10 trial. and
IS ended by his death
In April. 1911, Mrs. Hichborn re-
turned TO her mother and sinultanc-
ously Wyi!e returned 10 his family in
Wash!nston. He had deserted a wife
and four children: Mrs. Hichborn had
lat a three-year-o old baby boy. II is
supposed this attempt at reconcilia-
ton was the result OF meeting few
iiichborn. her sister. Mrs Ferdinand
Won Stumm. the vito OF former at
tlche OF the German embassy here,
and Mrs. Hoyt. II really. however, was
The outcome 81 an agreement between
Nrs. Hichborn and Wylie that each
ehould return home, and II both found
E reconciliation impossible they should
accept such a realization as a justin
cation for their elopcment. 1t APP
Ts.l{.aa l.aI
become reconcilcd, but not SO with
the Hichborns. \ reconciliation was
not made there. The next step came
last fall, VIXEN Wylie turned over 70
ills wife and children real estate said
10 be worth 100000 and personal
property worth 100000.
It was thought this was the final
action in bringing the family together.
hut It proved to be the step whion
separated them. wylIe resigned from
tho clubs which had not already
for Europe. Mrs. Hichborn remained
with her mother near Boston. and
after a hurried trip TO Washington
sailed In November for Europe from
Montreal Soon after they were said
10 have been sean IN Westminster
Cathedral and later IN France. TIE I
was the last Washington heard OF
their movements.
Never He&ained Spirits.
Young Hichoorn remained IN Wash
!ngton. except for n short trip 20 Cali
Norma. from which he returned Few
days ago. He never seemed to rise
Ia his former spirits, and day or
40 ago his sister remarked to mn
tual friend that she was having a
tim, TO keep Phil together" He was
known to host Of friends as the hest
typo OF a young man.
The prominence of his family ana
Mrs Hiohborn's gave unusual notice
10 the disaster. Rear-Adnlira! II!ch-
horn, long the chief constructor OF
mo navy. was referred to as the mas
t.r shiphuilder. and to his genius was
given much OF the credit for the per-
Torrance OF the American feet In the
war with Spain. Mrs IIichborn'a
father was a man OF Letters and n
scholar fitted for the position no held.
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