Famous Hangmen and Notable Executions
Chronological Listing of Hangmen through history

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Of the earlier cases little or nothing is known as little documentation survived. It is almost certain that it was much more barbaric to begin with and was not until much later that it became an exact science

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1300's 1400's 1500's 1600's 1700's 1800's 1900's
A listing of executions performed on servicemen for a variety of crimes committed during wartime
Military Executions Spy Executions American Servicemen Executed

 
 
An A to Z  listing of Modern Executions in the United States
A to D E to H I to L M to P Q to T U to Z

 
 

States in America that still have the Death Penalty


 
 

Hangmen and their work

This section covers the work of these people from the 1300's up until capital punishment was abolished in this country. Although I have tried to list the most famous murderers whose final appointment was with the executioner the list is not exhaustive. During the time that Albert Pierrepoint was in office he carried out over 400 executions.

The art of Hanging is an exact science and not simply a case of putting a loop of rope around someone's neck (this would be a lynching), with hanging a number of factors have to be taken into account such as height and weight of person. The definition of hanging is, execution by suspension, usually with a drop of 0.6-2 m/2-6 ft, so that the powerful jerk of the tightened rope breaks the neck. This was once a common form of capital punishment in Europe and is still practised in some states in the USA. It was abolished in the UK 1965.

Contrary to popular belief not everyone who was found guilty of murder was actually hanged in fact far from it. If we look at a period in history covering the ten years from 1939 - 1949 we will see that although 676 people were actually charged with murder due to pleas of insanity and other mitigating circumstances only 255 of these were sentenced to death. After the normal appeals and consideration by the Home Secretary the number executed dropped to 121.

Before thinking that the job must be a lonely one and that you have to be a strange person to want to do such a job it's perhaps worth mentioning that when James Berry applied for his job in 1884 he was one of 1,400 applicants. 

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For more information contact:
Gregg Manning  ( greggmanning@hotmail.com)