Jack Ketch
John Ketch († 1686 ), commonly known as Jack Ketch , was an English executioner ( executioner ) under King Charles II . The Irish immigrant was believed to have worked as an executioner from 1663 and was notorious for his brutal executions . His name has become synonymous with death, the devil and the executioner in general.
The execution of Lord William Russell on July 21, 1683 by Jack Ketch is recorded as extremely bloody. The first blows of the ax were not done properly and did not lead to the death of the delinquent . A pamphlet then circulated, entitled The Apologie of John Ketch, Esquire , in which Ketch claimed that Russell had not placed his head properly on the execution block and was therefore distracted when striking.
When two years later, on July 15, 1685, the Duke of Monmouth went to the scaffold , he gave Jack Ketch money to do his job better than he did at Russell. Nevertheless, Ketch needed several blows this time (the sources speak of up to eight blows with the ax) and ultimately severed the head from the body with a knife.
Jack Ketch in literature
Jack Ketch appears in several novels and short stories, for example in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1849) or in the Baroque cycle by Neal Stephenson (2003-2004). The writer Dallas Mayr (1946-2018) chose his pseudonym Jack Ketchum after the notorious executioner.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica, see web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ketch, Jack |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ketch, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English executioner |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 16th century or 17th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1686 |