Charles Becker (July 26, 1870 – July 30, 1915) was a lieutenant in the New York City Police Department between the 1890s and the 1910s. He is known for the scandal of being tried, convicted, and executed for the first-degree murder of the Manhattan gambler Herman Rosenthal in 1912 near Times Square. Convicted in the Becker-Rosenthal trial, Becker may have been "the only police officer executed for crimes connected to his official performance." He appealed and was retried but was convicted again. The corruption scandal related to the case was one of the most important in Progressive Era New York City and the early part of the 20th century. Early life Charles Becker was born in 1870 in the village of Callicoon Center, Sullivan County, New York. His parents were German-American immigrants from Bavaria. Becker moved to New York City as a young man in 1890 and went to work as a bouncer in a German beer hall just off the Bowery. In November 1893, he joined the New York City Police Department. In the fall of 1896, Becker gained wide attention when he arrested Ruby Young (alias Dora Clark) on Broadway because the known prostitute was in the company of popular writer Stephen Crane, the author of The Red Badge of Courage. The next day at Ruby Young's hearing, Crane stepped forward and defended Young. Crane's popularity carried weight in court at the sentencing of Young, and Magistrate Robert C. Cornell dismissed the case. Afterward Crane told reporters, "If the girl will have the officer prosecuted for perjury, I will gladly support her." Three weeks later, Young filed formal charges against Becker. Feeling vulnerable, Becker gathered evidence, hired experienced defense counsel Louis Grant, and rallied the support of his colleagues. Becker made a powerful entrance to his trial on October 15, 1896, surrounded by a phalanx of policemen. Commissioner Frederick Dent Grant, son of Ulysses S. Grant, headed the proceeding. After almost five hours of examination, Becker was acquitted. He learned about the power of the badge and how he could call on his colleagues for help. Marriage and family Becker married Letitia Stenson from Ontario, Canada. Their son, Howard P. Becker, was born in 1899. Six years later the couple divorced, and Howard grew up with his mother and stepfather in the West. His mother married Charles's brother Paul. Howard Becker completed a doctorate in sociology at the