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Albert Pierrepoint, The Man Who Legally Killed More Than 400 People
The official executioner of England for years, the hangman came to be disllusioned by capital punishment
We love to discover and talk about the toughest and most undesirable jobs that can be done for a living. It’s hard to top the vocation of Englishman Albert Pierrepoint, who during a quarter-century career as an executioner, legally killed more than 400 people, making him likely one of the the most prolific practitioners of his trade of all time.
Pierrepoint, who was born in Clayton, Yorkshire in 1905, is believed to be Britain’s most prolific executioner, carrying out somewhere between 435 and 600 hangings during a 25-year career as the hangman. He was simply part of the family business, as his father Henry and uncle Thomas were also long-time executioners.
Unfortunately, Pierrepoint’s father drank heavily, which contributed to inconsistent employment. When he did work, it was often performing executions. Watching his father, he became fascinated by his the profession, to the point that when he was 11, he wrote in a school assignment essay how he wanted follow in those footsteps:
“When I leave school I should like to be public executioner like my dad is, because it needs a steady man…
