John the Painter
Videos
James Aitken, also known as John the Painter, was a Scottish mercenary who committed acts of sabotage in Royal Navy dockyards in 1776 and 1777 during the American Revolutionary War. He was captured an
1777 engraving of James Aitken
1777 illustration of Aitken
Portrait of Aitken in jail by W. Cave ad viv del
18th century woodcut of Aitken
Gibbeting
Videos
Gibbeting is the use of a gallows-type structure from which the dead or dying bodies of criminals were hanged on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. Occasionally, the gibbet
John the Painter
…the execution. It was the highest gallows ever used in an execution in England. Some 20,000 people reportedly witnessed the hanging. His remains were gibbeted and displayed at Fort Blockhouse for several years. Arson in royal dockyards…
Captain Kidd, who was tried and executed for piracy, depicted hanging in chains
The gibbet in which Marie-Josephte Corriveau was exhibited after her execution, the "cage" of La Corriveau
The body of Joseph Süß Oppenheimer in his gibbet cage in 1738
Combe Gibbet, a replica gibbet in Berkshire