18th May 1812: The execution of John Bellingham
On this day in 1812 John Bellingham was publicly hanged outside Newgate Prison. Bellingham had been imprisoned in Russia in 1804 for an unpaid debt, and was not allowed to leave the country until five years later. Bellingham believed he was owed compensation by the British government for their refusal to intercede on his behalf, but was refused. On 11th May 1812 Bellingham took revenge by shooting prime minister Spencer Perceval in the lobby of the Houses of Parliament. Bellingham was found guilty of the murder - to date the only successful assassination of a British prime minister - and was hanged exactly one week later.
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