John Ketch, generally known as Jack Ketch, (died November 1686) was an infamous English executioner employed by King Charles II. An immigrant of Irish extraction, he became famous through the way he performed his duties during the tumults of the 1680s, when he was often mentioned in broadsheet accounts that circulated throughout the Kingdom of England. He is thought to have been appointed in 1663. He executed the death sentences against William Russell, Lord Russell in Lincoln's Inn Fields on July 21, 1683, and James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth on July 15, 1685, after the Monmouth Rebellion. Ketch's notoriety stems from "his barbarity at the execution of Lord Russell, the Duke of Monmouth, and other political offenders."
Because of his botched executions, the name "Jack Ketch" is used as a proverbial name for death, Satan, and executioner.
Read more about Jack Ketch: Appointment, Lord Russell's Execution, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth's Execution, Later Life, Fiction
Famous quotes containing the word jack:
“This is the maiden all forlorn
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn”
—Mother Goose (fl. 17th–18th century. The House That Jack Built (l. 22–23)