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Assassination of Spencer Perceval

When
1812
Where
Lobby of the House of Commons, Westminster; United Kingdom; Old Bailey and Newgate Prison, London; St Luke's Church, Charlton, London
Episodes
4

On 11 May 1812 Spencer Perceval, prime minister of the United Kingdom, was shot dead in the lobby of the House of Commons by John Bellingham, a Liverpool merchant seeking redress for imprisonment in Russia. Bellingham acted alone, was tried at the Old Bailey on 15 May, and was hanged at Newgate on 18 May 1812.

Episodes

  1. 11 May 1812 · Lobby of the House of Commons, WestminsterShooting of Perceval in the Commons lobby

    Bellingham shot Perceval dead in the lobby of the House of Commons at about 5:15 pm on 11 May 1812, as the prime minister headed to an inquiry.

  2. 11 May 1812 · United KingdomBellingham's grievance and lone action

    Initial fears of a general uprising proved unfounded: Bellingham had acted alone, protesting the government's failure to compensate him for imprisonment in Russia.

  3. 15–18 May 1812 · Old Bailey and Newgate Prison, LondonTrial and execution of Bellingham

    Bellingham was tried at the Old Bailey on 15 May 1812 before Sir James Mansfield and hanged at Newgate Prison on 18 May, one week after the assassination.

  4. 16 May 1812 · St Luke's Church, Charlton, LondonPerceval's burial and commemoration

    Perceval was buried on 16 May 1812 in the Egmont vault at St Luke's Church, Charlton; an anonymous 1812 poem mourned the 'martyr'd statesman'.

Background and detail

Bellingham's Grievance. John Bellingham, a Liverpool merchant, held a grievance against the government over its failure to compensate him for his treatment when he had been imprisoned in Russia for a trading debt. In December 1811 he returned to London ostensibly for business but in reality to resume his campaign for redress, and in 1812 he renewed his attempts to win compensation.

Aftermath. Perceval remains the sole British prime minister to have been assassinated. He was buried on 16 May 1812 in the Egmont vault at St Luke's Church, Charlton, London. Bellingham was tried at the Old Bailey on Friday 15 May 1812 under Sir James Mansfield and was hanged at Newgate Prison on 18 May, one week after the assassination.

People involved

Sources

  1. Assassination of Spencer Perceval Wikipedia, revision of 2026-06-21
  2. John Bellingham Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-08
  3. Spencer Perceval Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-13

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.