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1792: The September Massacres begin in Paris

During the September Massacres of 1792, revolutionary crowds swept through Paris prisons and religious institutions, killing prisoners and others regarded as enemies of the Revolution.

At the Carmelite Convent, Roman Catholic clergy imprisoned for refusing to swear allegiance to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy were brought out and killed, among them several bishops.

The violence formed part of a broader wave of extrajudicial executions that engulfed Paris over several days, as fears of counter-revolution and foreign invasion fed a climate of panic and vengeance.

Those killed at the convent were later recognised by the Catholic Church as the Martyrs of September and were beatified in 1926.

Engraving showing the massacre of Princess de Lamballe

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Europe Execution France Massacre Paris Political Crime Religion

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1666: The Great Fire of London Begins on Pudding Lane

In the early hours of 2 September 1666, a fire broke out at the Pudding Lane bakery of Thomas Farriner in the City of London. Driven by strong winds, the blaze consumed around 80 percent of the old city before it was brought under control on 6 September. Though attributed to an accident at the bakery, the disaster ignited a desperate search for culprits.

Robert Hubert, a French watchmaker from Rouen, confessed to starting the fire. His confession was riddled with impossibilities: he had not arrived in England until two days after the fire broke out, and he described throwing a fire grenade through a window at the Farriner bakery, which had no windows. With nationalism inflamed by the Second Anglo-Dutch War, a scapegoat was needed, and Hubert, a foreigner in a hostile city, was hanged for a crime he almost certainly did not commit.

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Arson Disaster Europe Execution London Political Crime UK Wrongful Conviction

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1816: Constable Thomas Wright Killed After Removing an Illicit Still from the Army Barracks

Early morning, September 2nd 1816, Constable Thomas Wright was standing outside the Guard Room at the army barracks in Sydney‘s outer settlement of Windsor when he was assaulted with a cutlass. The attack is believed to have been motivated by his earlier removal of an illicit still from the barracks.

Three soldiers, were tried for his wilful murder and all three were acquitted owing to conflicting witness statements. According to the Sydney Gazette, the trial had excited considerable interest and ended in a manner gratifying to general feeling, but left the true circumstances of Wright’s death unresolved.

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Australia Murder NSW Police Trial Windsor

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1963: The Trap That Caught Serial Killer Eric Edgar Cooke

In August 1963, Perth police discovered a rifle hidden in bushes, linked to the murder of Shirley McLeod. Rather than remove it, they set a trap: replacing the weapon with an inoperable replica tied with fishing line, then waited.

On 1 September 1963, Eric Edgar Cooke returned to retrieve the rifle and was arrested on the spot. Under questioning, he confessed to 22 violent crimes, including eight murders, making him one of the deadliest serial killers in Australian history.

Captured trying to retrieve the hidden weapon

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Australia Capture Murder Perth Police Serial Killer WA

1792: The September Massacres begin in Paris

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1666: The Great Fire of London Begins on Pudding Lane

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1816: Constable Thomas Wright Killed After Removing an Illicit Still from the Army Barracks

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1963: The Trap That Caught Serial Killer Eric Edgar Cooke

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