Making the rounds on Facebook is this New York Times clip from March 5, 1903, reporting events from the morning of March 4, 1903. The Times and some other sources refer to the freelance dentist as “Johnson,” but his name is John Simonson in other accounts.

With thanks to Tony Dierckins, below is the version of the story that ran in the March 4, 1903 edition of the Duluth Evening Herald.

Below are more clips on the same topic.

From The Minneapolis Journal, March 4, 1903.

From volume 11 of the Pacific Dental Gazette.

Above is the police log on the incident, from the Archives & Special Collections at UMD’s Kathryn A. Martin Library, which has Duluth Police Department records from 1889-1974. It’s tricky to present it well as a photograph on the internet, but the info listed is as follows.

Date: March 4
Name of Prisoner: John Simonsen
Age: 56
Married or Single: Single
Occupation: Fisherman
Nativity: Finn
Offense Charged: Practicing dentistry without certificate
By Whom Charged: State
Arrested By: O’Neil
Fined: –
Paid: –
Committed or Discharged: Dismissed
Property Received from Prisoner: –