Jesse Livermore Jr. was shot by his mother, Dorothea Longcope, Thanksgiving night, here shown with his mother on his return home in 1936. Their attorney is pictured center.Associated Press
Jesse had always been a problem child, drinking like his mother and sleeping with her friends.
On Thanksgiving, Dorothy and her new husband had lunch with her two sons. After the meal Dorothy sat down and began drinking liberally.
Jesse Livermore Jr., upset over her deteriorating drinking habits, finished off the bottle. His mother said, "I'd rather see you dead than drinking that way," to which he replied, "you don't have the nerve to shoot me" and handed her a gun.
She was inebriated, and after a prolonged argument, the gun went off.
She was taken in for questioning, Jesse Jr. narrowly survived, and she was cleared of charges.
The situation added stress to Livermore's life.