Last crime and punishment

Compiled by

Chilman Sahni

 Last executions for witchcraft in America

On 22 September 1692 seven women and one man were hanged for witchcraft at Salem and other places in New England.

Last beheading in the UK

On 9 April 1747, 80 years old Simon Fraser, Lord Lavot, was beheaded for treason at Tower Hill, London.

Last duel in the UK

The last duel in the UK in which a person was killed was fought by two Frenchmen at Egham in Surrey. Emile (or Emanuel) Barthelemy shot Frédéric Cournet on 19 October 1852. Barthelemy was found not guilty, but two years later he was hanged for murdering another man.

Last public hanging in the UK

Michael Barret was hanged outside Newgate Prison, London, on 26 May 1868 for the murder of Sarah Ann Hodgkinson. She was one of several victims who died from a bomb he had planted.

Last witness to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Samuel James Seymour, who died on 13 April 1956, was the last surviving witness to the assassination of the American president. Seymour was only five years old when he saw John Wikes Booth shoot Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre, Washington DC, on 14 April 1865.

Last person executed by guillotine

The last person to be executed in public was the murderer Eugene Weidmann who had his head cut off at Versailles, France, on 17 June 1939. The last official use of guillotine in France was on 10 September 1977, when Hamida Djandoubi was executed for murder at Baumetes Prison, Marseilles.

Last of the Seven Wonders

The last of the Seven Wonders of the World to be built was the 124m Pharos (lighthouse) of Alexandria, Egypt, which was completed in 279 BC. It was partly knocked down by invaders and later destroyed by an earthquake. The only one of the Seven Wonders that survives today is the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt.

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