33 Facts About Dan White

Daniel James White was an American politician who assassinated George Moscone, the 37th mayor of San Francisco, and Harvey Milk, a fellow member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, inside San Francisco City Hall on November 27,1978.

Dan White was convicted, not of murder, but on two counts of voluntary manslaughter and served five years of a seven-year and eight-month prison sentence.

Dan White was born in Long Beach, California, on September 2,1946, the second of nine children in a working-class Irish-American family.

Dan White grew up in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood of San Francisco and attended Archbishop Riordan High School, until he was expelled for violence in his junior year.

Dan White went on to attend Woodrow Wilson High School.

Dan White enlisted in the United States Army in June 1965.

Dan White served during the Vietnam War as a sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division between 1969 and 1970, and was honorably discharged in 1971.

Dimond High School in Anchorage, Alaska, Dan White returned to San Francisco and joined the San Francisco Police Department.

Dan White then joined the San Francisco Fire Department, in which he rescued a woman and her baby from a seventh-floor apartment.

In 1977, Dan White was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 8, which included several neighborhoods near the southeastern boundaries of San Francisco.

In January of 1978, Dan White was interviewed by reporter Jerry Burns on Channel 6 in San Francisco, and was asked his opinion on the new districting system.

Dan White responded, saying that San Franciscans wanted the new system, because it promoted "togetherness" between members of the Board.

The Times stated that as a supervisor, Dan White saw himself as the board's "defender of the home, the family and religious life against homosexuals, pot smokers and cynics".

Milk was one of three people from City Hall invited to the baptism of Dan White's newborn child shortly after the 1977 election.

Dan White persuaded Dianne Feinstein, then president of the Board of Supervisors, to appoint Milk chairman of the Streets and Transportation Committee.

Dan White strongly opposed the facility, while Milk supported it, and their difference of opinion led to a conflict between the two.

Dan White opposed the Briggs Initiative which sought to ban gay men and lesbians from working in California's public schools and would have required the termination of any public education employee who spoke positively about homosexuality in any context.

Yet, Dan White voted against an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against gays in housing and employment, an ordinance championed by Milk.

On November 10,1978, Dan White resigned his seat as supervisor.

Dan White had opened a baked potato stand at Pier 39, which failed to become profitable.

On November 27,1978, Dan White visited City Hall with the later-declared intention of killing not only Moscone and Milk, but two other San Francisco politicians, Speaker of the California State Assembly Willie Brown and Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver, whom he blamed for lobbying Moscone not to reappoint him.

When Moscone refused, Dan White shot him in the shoulder, the chest, and twice in the head.

Dan White then walked to Milk's office, reloaded the gun and fatally shot Milk five times, firing the final two shots with the gun's barrel touching Milk's skull.

Dan White then fled City Hall, surrendering to the police at Northern Police Station, where he had formerly been a police officer.

Forensic psychiatrist Martin Blinder testified that Dan White exhibited several behavioral symptoms of depression, including the fact that Dan White had gone from being highly health-conscious to consuming sugary foods and drinks.

Many people familiar with City Hall claimed that it was common to enter through the window Dan White had used to save time.

Dan White was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and he was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.

Dan White served five years of his seven-year sentence at Soledad State Prison and was paroled on January 7,1984.

Dan White eventually did move back to San Francisco, where he lived with his wife and children.

On October 21,1985, less than two years after his release, Dan White committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in his garage.

Dan White was buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, with a traditional government-furnished headstone issued for war veterans.

Dan White was survived by his two sons, his daughter and his widow.

Dan White was portrayed by Josh Brolin in the 2008 film Milk.