Who Killed Franklin Gowen Author:Patrick Campbell An investigation into the death of Franklin B. Gowen, who was one of the most controversial personalities in American labor history. Gowen, when president of the Reading Railroad in the 1870s, was responsible for the trial and execution of twenty Irish mine workers -- known as Molly Maguires. When he was found dead in a Washington D.C. hotel roo... more »m in 1889, a gun by his side and a bullet in his head, the coroner claimed it was suicide, but the family claimed he was murdered. The author analyses the forensic evidence and the circumstantial evidence and concludes Gowen was murdered. Three modern medical examiners agree with him.« less