On
this date, 11 May 1812, Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John
Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons, London. I will post
information about this assassination from Wikipedia and other links.
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Immediate aftermath of Perceval's
assassination, 11 May 1812 (a 1909 representation)
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Spencer
Perceval, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, was shot and killed in the lobby of the House of Commons in London,
at about 5:15 pm on Monday 11 May 1812. His assailant was John Bellingham, a Liverpool
merchant with a grievance against the government. Bellingham was detained and,
four days after the murder, was tried, convicted and sentenced to death. He was
hanged at Newgate Prison on 18 May 1812.
Perceval
had led the Tory government since 1809, during
a critical phase of the Napoleonic Wars. His determination to prosecute the
war using the harshest of measures caused widespread poverty and unrest on the
home front; thus the news of his death was a cause of rejoicing in the most
affected parts of the country. Despite initial fears that the assassination
might be linked to a general uprising, it transpired that Bellingham had acted
alone, protesting against the government's failure to compensate him for his
treatment a few years previously, when he had been imprisoned in Russia for a
trading debt. Bellingham's lack of remorse, and apparent certainty that his
action was justified, raised questions about his sanity, but at his trial he
was judged to be legally responsible for his actions.
After
Perceval's death, parliament made generous provision to his widow and children,
and approved the erection of monuments. Thereafter his ministry was soon
forgotten, his policies reversed, and he is generally better known for the
manner of his death than for any of his achievements. Later historians have
characterised Bellingham's hasty trial and execution as contrary to the
principles of justice. The possibility that he was acting within a conspiracy,
on behalf of a consortium of Liverpool traders hostile to Perceval's economic
policies, is the subject of a 2012 study.
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