The New Newgate Calendar

On this date in 1807, the British navy hanged Jenkin Ratford from the yardarm of the HMS Halifax off the coast of Maryland — an incident destined... read more »

Today’s obscure mariner hanged at the Wapping execution dock comes from a tidbit unearthed years ago by the now-inert blog ReScript: 30 Awgust Ano... read more »

In the year 1835, a few gentlemen interested in the welfare of seamen belonging to, or visiting Hobart Town, assembled at Dr. Boss's Library and Reading... read more »

On this date in 1783, British engraver William Wynne Ryland hanged at Tyburn* before a throng of gallows-voyeurs such as “had not been seen on a... read more »

The Death of Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle, Monday, Aug. 28, 1648 By the old wall at Colchester, With moss and grass o’ergrown, The curious,... read more »

“An Execution at the Debtor’s Door of Newgate”, from The Newgate Calendar (www.exclassics.com/newgate/ngintro.htm.) On 7 April 1825,... read more »

Johann Christian Woyzeck was publicly beheaded on this date in 1824 for fatally daggering his lover in a jealous wrath. An orphan to whom the Napoleonic... read more »

Christ College was opened on 1 October 1846 with the hope that it would develop along the lines of an Oxbridge college and provide the basis for university... read more »

This is a bit different from previous convict tales: it’s about two people – who shared the same name. Lucy Williams has previously blogged... read more »

From the Philadelphia Daily Age, Aug. 30, 1864. In view of the coming draft the Government has found it necessary to hang a man. The victim selected was... read more »

Litterateur Barnabé Farmian Durosoy was guillotined in Paris on this date in 1792. Playwright, poet, and (most problematically) journalist, Durosoy‘s... read more »

I’m blogging for Old Bailey Online today on my developing research. Digitisation has opened up archival records to entirely new audiences, eager... read more »

This is a guest post by Aoife O Connor, one of the PhD students on our partner project, the Digital Panopticon, who is researching the impact of the digitisation... read more »

On this date in 1851 — mere hours after a similar exercise of summary justice took place in Sacramento — the San Francisco Vigilance Committee... read more »

The principle of open justice – referring to the transparency of the trial process – has a long history. Courts in ancient Greece, for example,... read more »

On this date in 1925, “seven men were led from their cells and executed at intervals of 40 minutes,” reported the Evening Independent —... read more »

Side by side at Mount Nassau are two attractive houses of about 1830 or 1840 vintage. The main house is a two storey brick dwelling with a rather simple,... read more »

On this date in 1572, Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland, lost his head for treason. The latest patriarch of a northern family illustrious in rebellion,... read more »

Barbara Zdunk was executed on this date in 1811 in the Prussian city Rößel (today the Polish city Reszel). Zdunk is the chronologically latest... read more »

Slovak fascist politician Vojtech Tuka was hanged on this date in 1946 by the postwar Czechoslovakian government. A lawyer, academic, and journalist, Tuka... read more »

As part of my on-going investigation into unusual subject matter found in The National Archives (TNA), my husband challenged me to discover references... read more »

On this date in 1901, Petrus Jacobus Fourie, Jan van Rensburg, and Lodewyk Francois Stephanus Pfeiffer were shot by the British at Graaff-Reinet. They... read more »

The two conjoined houses that stand next to St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Macquarie Street, Hobart were constructed by Richard Roberts in 1847.... read more »

From the Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) Times, Aug. 18, 1899: ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 18 — Armstead Taylor and John Alfred Brown, negroes, were hanged here this... read more »

One hundred years ago today, Leo M. Franks was lynched to an oak tree at Marietta — one of the most hotorious mob murders in American history. Methodically... read more »

Early 19th century portrait of a Bethlem patient In 1857, the newspapers were full of breathless tales about one man, whose name changed according both... read more »

This delightfully situated cottage overlooks the Government gardens and was no doubt placed in that location to impress those who it accommodated. It had... read more »

Miscarriages of justice perpetrated by actors in a position to extract private benefit from generating criminal prosecutions is a story as old as the hills.... read more »

Account from the Derby Mercury, Aug. 21, 1817: THE EXECUTION OFJohn Brown, Thos. Jackson, Geo. Booth & John King. The above unfortunate men were arraigned... read more »

Listen to RTE Radio Documentary: The Murder, Me & My Family Tree in which Dylan Haskins finishes a journey started by his father to discover... read more »

..very pleased to read (and to provide link to) another new post about hysteria, this time from Sarah Jaffray, over at http://blog.wellcomecollection.org/2015/08/13/hysteria/My... read more »

At Edinburgh’s Tolbooth on this date in 1679, two Covenanter ministers hanged as rebels. The widely recorded gallows-humor bon mot of Kid to his... read more »

The intrepid Huguenot commander Charles du Puy-Montbrun was beheaded on this date in 1575. We turn for this account to a 19th century history in the public... read more »

On August 12, 1895, Willamina “Minnie” Dean became the only woman executed in New Zealand’s history. An immigrant from Scotland, Dean... read more »

Some of our readers may be interested in this talk by DP’s Tim Hitchcock and Juliet Lyon of the Prison Reform Trust, in London on 27 August. Since... read more »

The elegant house now known as 'Fernleigh' "was built in the 1830s by Thomas Gorringe, a free settler who was granted 800 acres by Governor Macquarie in... read more »

Konrad Heilig and Gustav Tiedemann, two officers who joined the Baden Revolution(s) of 1848-1849, were shot on this date in 1849. In southwest Germany’s... read more »

On this date in 1284, the deposed Mongol ruler Tekuder was put to death. The Mongols had conquered half the world on the back of steppe horses and religious... read more »

(Thanks to Robert Elder of Last Words of the Executed — the blog, and the book — for the guest post. Fans of this here site are highly likely... read more »

The Queen Adelaide Inn began life as a comfortable 4 roomed brick cottage that was built by James Sly, a bootmaker, in the mid 1840’s. By 1853, it... read more »

In John Grisham’s The Chamber, it is on August 8, 1990 that the titular enclosure receives its victim in a cloud of lethal gas. In The Chamber, Sam... read more »

(Via) August 7 is Assyrian Martyrs’ Day, in remembrance of the Simele Massacre that began this date in 1933. A Mesopotamian Christian people* whom... read more »

On this date in 1883, the illustrious hanging career of executioner William Marwood came to an inglorious conclusion. The Billy Beane of the Victorian... read more »

300th Post!261,733 blog views!Thank You to Everyone who has Visited.Hope you continue to enjoy the posts.This is the house of one of the richest men in... read more »

On this date in 2008, Mexican national Jose Medellin was executed by Texas, pleasurably sticking its thumb in the eye of the International Court of Justice.... read more »

We are delighted to announce our call for papers for the project’s Australian conference! The deadline for submissions is 30 November. We particularly... read more »

Blog Readers may be interested in this, the first update about the development of a new book, Mad or Bad? A History of Crime and Insanity in Victorian... read more »

Minutes before dawn prayers today, Pakistan hanged Shafqat Hussain in Karachi Central Jail.* He’s the latest casualty of Pakistan’s wild death... read more »

From the Newgate Calendar: A century since highwaymen were as common as insolvent debtors are now. Public vehicles were then little known. The roads were... read more »

Continuing my weekend of marking the 300th anniversary of the Riot Act, here are my final five events and facts linked to this piece of legislation. 6.... read more »