John Bellingham - for the assassination of Sir Spencer Perceval.
John Bellingham - for the assassination of Sir Spencer Perceval. Britain does not have a history of assassination of its political leaders but around 5.15 p.m. on the afternoon of Monday the 11th of May 1812, just such an event occurred when John Bellingham shot and killed the Prime Minister, Sir Spencer Perceval. On the fateful Monday, Bellingham had entered the House of Commons in search of his intended victim, Lord Leveson Gower, Britain’s former ambassador to Russia. Bellingham had been imprisoned in Russia for debt when a business venture had failed and he blamed the British government and Gower, especially, for not doing anything to assist him. After his release Bellingham returned to Britain and lobbied the Foreign Office for compensation, which was not forthcoming. He visited it on the 18th of April 1812 and was told that he was at liberty to try and pursue his claim, but not to expect success. Two days later, on the 20th of April, Bellingham purchased a pair of half inch