Griffith J. Griffith gave Los Angeles a 3,015-acre park, shot his wife and went to prison, and used his will to build the Griffith Observatory

Griffith J. Griffith, a Welsh-born mining expert, bought about 4,000 acres of Rancho Los Feliz in 1882. In 1887 he married Tina Mesmer; her property was transferred to him before the wedding. On 16 December 1896 he gave Los Angeles 3,015 acres for a public park. In September 1903, at the Arcadia Hotel in Santa Monica, he made Tina kneel, asked her whether she had poisoned him, and shot her in the face. She jumped from a window, lost her right eye and survived. In February 1904 a jury rejected his insanity defence and convicted him of assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to two years and a $5,000 fine, served time in the county jail and San Quentin, and was paroled in December 1906. Tina won a divorce for cruelty and custody of their son. On 12 December 1912 Griffith offered the city $100,000 for an observatory on Mount Hollywood. The council accepted, but the project stalled. In 1916 he wrote a will with bequests for an observatory and a Greek theatre, setting the observatory's site and programmes. He died on 6 July 1919. The Griffith Trust spent the bequest. The observatory opened on 14 May 1935, the Trust handed it to the city, and admission is still free.