C. C. Julian
C. C. Julian | |
|---|---|
 C. C. Julian in court, Los Angeles, sometime between 1926 and 1933 (L.A. Times Collection at UCLA) | |
| Born | October 10, 1885 Manitoba, Canada |
| Died | March 25, 1934 (aged 48) Shanghai, China |
| Burial place | "Shanghai's foreign cemetery" |
| Occupation | Oil company promoter |
Courtney Chauncey Julian (October 10, 1885 – March 25, 1934) was a Canadian-American oil company promoter and con man operating in Los Angeles, California, United States in the 1920s and 1930s.[1]
Biography[edit]
Born in the Canadian province of Manitoba on October 10, 1885, to Roman Catholic Irish immigrant parents,[2][3] Julian was the founder and namesake of Julian Petroleum Company, which ultimately "defrauded local investors of $100–$200 million (nearly $3 billion in 2019 dollars) with the help of local businessmen and politicians".[4] In his high-rolling heyday, Julian once spent $2,300 to buy a round of champagne for everyone at the Ship Cafe in Venice.[5]
He fled the country to avoid prosecution and committed suicide by intentional drug overdose at the Astor House Hotel in Shanghai, China, on March 25, 1934.[6][7] At the time of Julian's death his wife and two daughters lived in Winnipeg.[8] He was buried in a "foreign cemetery" in Shanghai on May 11, 1934, in a service attended only by his 19-year-old companion Leonora Levy and her sister.[9][10]
References[edit]
- ^ Waldie, D. J. (January 5, 2023). "The Julian Pete Scandal: The Multi-Million Dollar Oil Swindle that Rocked 1920s Los Angeles". PBS SoCal. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- ^ "Entry for Francis Julian and Kathleen M Julian, 1901". Canada Census, 1901 – via FamilySearch.
- ^ "Entry for Courtney C Julian and Mary O Julian, 1920". United States Census, 1920 – via FamilySearch.
- ^ Samples & Matzko (2020), p. 6.
- ^ "World-Famous Ship Cafe on Auction Block Today". The Los Angeles Times. October 17, 1946. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- ^ L.A. Times (1934).
- ^ "Last photo taken of C. C. Julian, oil fraudster, Shanghai, 1935 (copy photo, original photo date circa 1934) - UCLA Library Digital Collections". digital.library.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- ^ Evening Post-Record (1935).
- ^ "Julian Buried Like Beggar in Shanghai". News-Pilot. San Pedro, California. Associated Press. May 11, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- ^ "C. C. Julian Laid to Rest". The Whittier News. United Press. May 11, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
Sources[edit]
- n.a. (March 26, 1934). "Friends to Bury Julian, Penniless at His Death". The Los Angeles Times. Vol. LIII. p. 1. ISSN 0458-3035.
- n.a. (March 28, 1934). "Julian's Body Returned to the U.S." Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. p. 14.
- Samples, John; Matzko, Paul (May 4, 2020). Social Media Regulation in the Public Interest: Some Lessons from History. 20-09 Knight First Amend. Inst. (Report). Columbia University.
Further reading[edit]
- Tygiel, Jules (1994). The Great Los Angeles Swindle: Oil, Stocks, and Scandal during the Roaring Twenties. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-505489-7.
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