Denis Dighton - D10750
John Bellingham ('John Bellingham, taken at the Sessions House Old Bailey, May 15 1812')
by Denis Dighton
published 16 May 1812
NPG D10750
Portraits in Profile: the Dighton Family
Denis
Dighton
1792-1827
NPG D10750
John Bellingham
, published 1812
Bellingham assassinated the prime minister Spencer Perceval in
1812. A tradesman and commercial agent, he had faced bankruptcy
in 1794 and then in 1804 was detained in Russia under charges
of debt.
His appeals of injustice to the British Consul and ambassador
went unheard. He was finally released in 1809 and returned to
England intent on seeking redress but he failed. Exasperated,
he shot the prime minster in the lobby of the House of Commons
on 11 May 1812.
He is shown here at his trial on 15 May. Found guilty, he was
executed three days later.
