In 1729, John Mitchel was convicted of extortion after threatening to accuse men of sodomy unless they paid him. Operating in St James’s Park, he exploited fear of scandal to extract money. His scheme ended when one victim reported him, leading to imprisonment and punishment in the pillory.
Tag Archives: today in history
This Day in History: April 15th, 1692
Henry Harrison was executed in 1692 for the murder of Dr Nicholas Clench, a London physician. The case centred on financial motive, suspicious circumstances, and Harrison’s contradictory statements at trial, highlighting how early modern justice often relied on credibility as much as concrete evidence.
This Day in History: April 14th, 1860
In 1860, a routine police check in Marylebone turned violent when two men brutally attacked Constable Thomas Bell with life-preservers. Mistaking them for help, he was struck down and left bleeding in the street. Both attackers were later captured and sentenced to eight years’ penal servitude.
This Day in History: April 13th, 1743
In 1743, apprentice Elizabeth Cannon and lodger Ann Ellard robbed their bedridden mistress after a night of drunken planning. Caught within hours, they confessed and were sentenced to death. This tragic Old Bailey case reveals how quickly crime, drink, and desperation could lead to the gallows in Georgian London.
This Day in History: 10 April 1771
In 1771, sailor John Commings was convicted of perjury after falsely accusing Captain Richard Broad of murdering Thomas Scott aboard the King David. This remarkable Old Bailey case exposed contradictions, collapsing testimony, and the deadly danger of false evidence in an age when a man’s life could hang on a witness’s word.
This Day in History: 9 April 1684
On 9 April 1684, two women named Mary Corbet were tried at the Old Bailey—one for counterfeiting coin, the other for murdering her concealed newborn child. Both were sentenced to death, yet later records hint at a royal pardon, leaving their ultimate fates uncertain and historically ambiguous.
This Day in History: 8 April 1719
In 1719, two Old Bailey cases revealed the dangers of defying the Crown. Augustine Moore was brutally punished for insulting the Princess of Wales, while Margaret Hicks was convicted for cursing King George I and issuing threats. Together, the cases highlight how seriously words—and dissent—were treated in early 18th-century England.
This Day in History: 7 April 1725
In 1725, Mary Hanson was convicted of murdering her brother-in-law, Francis Peters, during a drunken domestic dispute in St Katherine’s, London. With no prior quarrel or motive, the case shocked contemporaries and stands as a stark example of how sudden violence could lead swiftly to execution in 18th-century England.
This Day in History: 2 April 1788
n 1788, tailor David Clary was convicted of deliberately setting fire to his own home in London—triggering a blaze that endangered neighbouring properties. With no direct witnesses, the case relied entirely on circumstantial evidence, revealing one of the earliest and most striking examples of suspected insurance fraud.
This Day in History – 31 March 1909
In 1909, the North-Eastern Dairy Company was exposed for selling adulterated milk and coaching witnesses to lie in court. This Old Bailey case reveals a conspiracy of fraud and perjury, where everyday food was tampered with and justice itself nearly undermined by false testimony.
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