Accuracy Project

Lizzie Andrew Borden was an American who allegedly murdered her father and stepmother and earned a permanent place in American folklore thanks to the following children's rhyme:

In point of fact, Andrew and Abby Borden had significantly fewer than the aforementioned 40 and 41 wounds. The macabre little ditty also misstates the relationship between Lizzie Borden and her stepmother.

Following a trial that garnered a tremendous amount of national publicity, she was found not guilty of the brutal murders. The verdict aside, Lizzie's unsuccessful attempt to purchase poison from the local drug store just days before the murders, and her burning of a dress stained with "paint" days after, led to the popular public perception that she was, in fact, guilty.

Over the years, the sensational killings spawned countless books, news articles and a speculative account of the case told in the 1975 Elizabeth Montgomery television movie, The Legend of Lizzie Borden.

Date and place of birth: July 19, 1860*, at 12 Ferry Street, Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Date, place and cause of death: June 1, 1927, at 306 French Street (formerly 7 French St.), Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (Heart failure / Complications from gall bladder surgery)

Parents:
Father: Andrew Jackson Borden (a banker)
Mother: Sarah Morse

Burial location: Oak Grove Cemetery, Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

* 9:46 a.m. has been reported as her time of birth, but the validity of this claim is highly suspect.

NOTE: Some sources have erroneously reported she died at "Truesdale Hospital." While it's true she did spend time there for her gall bladder surgery, by the time of her death, she had been released and died at her home on French Street, in Fall River, Massachusetts.