The New Newgate Calendar

Post Archives

Archives for August 2015

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 »