Griffith Jenkins Griffith was a WelshAmerican industrialist and philanthropist. After amassing a significant fortune from a mining syndicate in the 1880s, Griffith donated 3,015 acres to the City of Los Angeles which became Griffith Park, and he bequeathed the money to build the parks Greek Theatre and Griffith Observatory. Griffiths legacy was marred by his notorious shooting of his wife in 1903, a crime for which he served two years in prison.
Griffith J. Griffith was born in Bettws, Glamorganshire, Wales, on January 4, 1850. He immigrated to the United States in 1865, settling in Ashland, Pennsylvania. In 1873 he moved to San Francisco, California, and became manager of the Herald Publishing Company. In 1887 he married Mary Agnes Christina Mesmer .
Source: Wikipedia