List of famous duels
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of famous duel
s.
Banks, Stephen, Dead before Breakfast: The English Gentleman and Honour Affronted", in S. Bibb and D. Escandell (eds), Best Served Cold: Studies on Revenge (Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2010), http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/publishing/id-press/ebooks/best-served-cold
Banks, Stephen, "Challengers Chastised and Duellists Deterred: Kings Bench and Criminal Informations, 1800-1820" (2007) ANZLH E-Journal, Refereed Paper No (4). http://www.anzlhsejournal.auckland.ac.nz/Refereed_Papers_2007.htm
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Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
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American duels
- May 16, 1777: Button GwinnettButton GwinnettButton Gwinnett was an English-born American political leader who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was the second of the signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...
, signer of the Declaration of IndependenceUnited States Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
, dueled his political opponent Lachlan McIntoshLachlan McIntoshLachlan McIntosh was a British-born American military and political leader during the American Revolution and the early United States. In a 1777 duel, he shot dead Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.-Arrival in Georgia:Lachlan McIntosh was born near Raits, Badenoch,...
; both were wounded, Gwinnett died three days later. - July 11, 1804: U.S. Vice President Aaron BurrAaron BurrAaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...
and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander HamiltonAlexander HamiltonAlexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
; Hamilton was killed.
- May 30, 1806: Andrew JacksonAndrew JacksonAndrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
and Charles DickinsonCharles Dickinson (historical figure)Charles Dickinson was an American attorney, and a famous duelist. An expert marksman, Dickinson's died from injuries sustained in a duel with Andrew Jackson, who later became President of the United States.-Life:...
; Dickinson was killed, Jackson wounded. - August 12, 1817: Thomas Hart BentonThomas Hart Benton (senator)Thomas Hart Benton , nicknamed "Old Bullion", was a U.S. Senator from Missouri and a staunch advocate of westward expansion of the United States. He served in the Senate from 1821 to 1851, becoming the first member of that body to serve five terms...
and Charles LucasCharles Lucas (Missouri)Charles Lucas was an entrepreneur and legislator in Missouri Territory who was killed in a duel with U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton.-Early life:...
on Bloody Island; Attorneys on opposite sides of a court battle - Lucas challenged Benton's right to vote and Benton accused Lucas of being a "puppy"; Lucas was shot in the throat and Benton shot in the leg; Benton released Lucas from his obligation. - September 27, 1817: Benton and Lucas rematch on Bloody Island; Benton challenged Lucas after Lucas said the first fight at 30 feet (9.1 m) was unfair because Benton was a better shot. Benton killed Lucas at nine feet and was unhurt.
- March 22, 1820: Stephen DecaturStephen DecaturStephen Decatur, Jr. , was an American naval officer notable for his many naval victories in the early 19th century. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland, Worcester county, the son of a U.S. Naval Officer who served during the American Revolution. Shortly after attending college Decatur...
and James BarronJames BarronJames Barron was an officer in the United States Navy. Commander of the frigate USS Chesapeake, he was court-martialed for his actions on 22 June 1807, which led to the surrender of his ship to the British....
; Decatur was killed. - June 30, 1823 Joshua Barton and Thomas C. Rector on Bloody Island (Mississippi River); Rector was critical of Barton's brother, Senator David BartonDavid BartonDavid Barton is an American evangelical Christian minister, conservative activist and author. He founded WallBuilders, a Texas-based organization with a goal of exposing the claimed US constitutional separation of church and state as a myth...
's blocking the appointment of Rector's brother William Rector to General Surveyor position. Barton was killed and Rector unhurt. - April 26, 1826 Henry ClayHenry ClayHenry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
and John Randolph of RoanokeJohn Randolph of RoanokeJohn Randolph , known as John Randolph of Roanoke, was a planter and a Congressman from Virginia, serving in the House of Representatives , the Senate , and also as Minister to Russia...
; at Pimmit Run, VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
; Both unhurt. - August 26, 1831: Thomas Biddle and Spencer Darwin PettisSpencer Darwin PettisSpencer Darwin Pettis , U.S. Representative from Missouri. The fierce campaign of 1830 led to a quarrel over the United States Bank issue with Major Thomas Biddle. The quarrel escalated into a duel in which both men were killed on Bloody Island near St...
on Bloody Island (Mississippi River); Biddle challenged Pettis for comments about Biddle's brother who was president of the United States bank. Both died after firing from five feet. - August 10, 1832: Savannah physician Philip Minis shot and killed Georgia state legislator James Stark.
- September 25, 1832: James WestcottJames WestcottJames Diament Westcott, Jr. was a United States Senator from Florida.-Early life and career:Westcott was born in Alexandria, Virginia where his father, James Sr., was transitioning from newspaper publisher to politician. James Jr.'s grandfather was a captain in the American Revolutionary War...
and Thomas BaltzellThomas BaltzellThomas Baltzell was an American lawyer and politician who was the first popularly elected chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court...
; Baltzell unhurt, Westcott injured but survived to become a U.S. Senator. - February 24, 1838: Kentucky Representative William Jordan Graves killed Maine Representative Jonathan CilleyJonathan CilleyJonathan Cilley was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine. He served part of one term in the 25th Congress. He died in office at Bladensburg, Md. as the result of being challenged to fight a duel with Congressman William J. Graves, a colleague from Kentucky...
in a pistol duel. Congress then passed a law making it illegal to issue or accept duel challenge in Washington, D.C. - September 22, 1842: Future President Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, at the time an Illinois state legislator, accepted a challenge to a duel by state auditor James ShieldsJames ShieldsJames Shields was an American politician and United States Army officer who was born in Altmore, County Tyrone, Ireland. Shields, a Democrat, is the only person in United States history to serve as a U.S. Senator for three different states...
. Lincoln apparently had published an inflammatory letter in a Springfield, Illinois, newspaper, the Sangamon Journal, that poked fun at the Illinois State Auditor—Shields. Taking offense, Shields demanded "satisfaction" and the incident escalated with the two parties meeting on a Missouri island called Sunflower Island, near Alton, Illinois, to participate in a duel. Just prior to engaging in combat, the two participants' seconds intervened and were able to convince the two men to cease hostilities, on the grounds that Lincoln had not written the letters. - July 26, 1847: Albert PikeAlbert PikeAlbert Pike was an attorney, Confederate officer, writer, and Freemason. Pike is the only Confederate military officer or figure to be honored with an outdoor statue in Washington, D.C...
and John Selden RoaneJohn Selden RoaneJohn Selden Roane was a Confederate Brigadier General during the American Civil War. He also served as the fourth Governor of the State of Arkansas.-Biography:...
; declared a draw, no injuries. - June 1, 1853: U.S. Senator William McKendree Gwin and U.S. Congressman J.W. McCorkle, no injuries.
- August 26, 1856: Benjamin Gratz Brown and Thomas C. Reynolds on Bloody Island (Mississippi River); In what would be called the "Duel of the Governors" Brown was then the abolitionist editor of the St. Louis Democrat and Reynolds a pro-slavery St. Louis district attorney fought with Brown being shot in the leg and limping for the rest of his life while Reynolds was unhurt. Brown would become a Missouri Governor and Reynolds would become a Confederate Governor of Missouri.
- September 13, 1859: U.S. Senator David C. BroderickDavid C. BroderickDavid Colbreth Broderick was a Democratic U.S. Senator from California. He was a first cousin of Andrew Kennedy and Case Broderick.-Early life and education:...
and David S. TerryDavid S. TerryDavid Smith Terry was a California politician, who killed United States Senator David C. Broderick in the Broderick – Terry duel in 1859. He was then killed in 1889 by a bodyguard of United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen J. Field.-Biography:Terry was born in Christian County, Kentucky...
, formerly Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of CaliforniaSupreme Court of CaliforniaThe Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
; Broderick was killed. - July 21, 1865: Wild Bill HickokWild Bill HickokJames Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach...
and David Tutt quarrelled over cards and decided to have a gunfight. Tutt was killed. - June 7, 1882: LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
State TreasurerState TreasurerIn the state governments of the United States, 49 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. Texas abolished the position of Texas State Treasurer in 1996....
Edward A. BurkeEdward A. BurkeEdward Austin Burke or Burk was the Democratic State Treasurer of Louisiana from 1878 to 1888. Burke was the first Democrat to hold the office of Louisiana Treasurer following Reconstruction. Burke later fled to Honduras after it was discovered that there were misappropriations of state treasury...
was seriously wounded by C. Harrison Parker, the editor of the New Orleans Daily Picayune, in a duel with pistols. After Parker published unflattering remarks about Burke, Burke challenged him to a duel. - February 8, 1887: Jim CourtrightJim CourtrightTimothy Isaiah "Longhair Jim" or "Big Jim" Courtright was an American lawman, outlaw and gunfighter....
killed by Luke ShortLuke ShortWestern frontiersman Luke L. Short was a noted gunfighter, who had worked as a farmer, cowboy, whiskey peddler, army scout, dispatch rider, gambler and saloon keeper at various times during the four decades of his life.- Early life :...
during a duel at Fort Worth, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
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Antiquity
- 222 BC: Marcus Claudius MarcellusMarcus Claudius MarcellusMarcus Claudius Marcellus , five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War...
taking the spolia opimaSpolia opimaSpolia opima refers to the armor, arms, and other effects that an ancient Roman general had stripped from the body of an opposing commander slain in single combat...
from ViridomarusViridomarusViridomarus was a Gaulish military leader who led an army against an army of the Roman Republic at the Battle of Clastidium. The Romans won the battle, and in the process, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, the Roman leader, earned the spolia opima by killing Viridomarus in single combat....
, king of the GaesataeGaesataeThe Gaesatae were a group of Gaulish warriors who lived in the Alps near the river Rhône and fought against the Roman Republic in the Battle of Telamon of 225 BC...
, at the Battle of ClastidiumBattle of ClastidiumThe Battle of Clastidium was fought in 222 BC between a Roman Republican army led by the Roman consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus and the Insubres led by Viridomarus. The Romans won the battle, and in the process, Marcellus earned the Spolia opima, one of the highest honors in ancient Rome, by...
. - 29 BC: Marcus Licinius Crassus vs. Deldo, king of the BastarnaeBastarnaeThe Bastarnae or Basternae were an ancient Germanic tribe,, who between 200 BC and 300 AD inhabited the region between the eastern Carpathian mountains and the Dnieper river...
.
Asian duels
- During the Three KingdomsThree KingdomsThe Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
period of China, in 195 warlord Sun CeSun CeSun Ce was a military general and warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was the oldest of the children of Sun Jian who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when Sun Ce was only 16. Sun Ce then broke away from his father's overlord, Yuan Shu, and headed to...
encountered an enemy general, named Taishi CiTaishi CiTaishi Ci was a military general during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He served several warlords, including Kong Rong, Liu Yao, and Sun Ce.-Early life:...
, by accident when both of them were scouting the other. The two fought until the arrival of their men compelled them to break off. The result was that Sun Ce seized Taishi Ci's weapon while Taishi Ci grabbed Sun Ce's helmet. There was however no record that any one of them was injured in this duel. This is one of the few examples of two generals dueling during a time of war. - During the Sengoku period of Japan, a daimyoDaimyois a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
called Uesugi KenshinUesugi Kenshinwas a daimyo who ruled Echigo province in the Sengoku period of Japan.He was one of the most powerful lords of the Sengoku period. While chiefly remembered for his prowess on the battlefield, Kenshin is also regarded as an extremely skillful administrator who fostered the growth of local industries...
fought against a rival of his named Takeda ShingenTakeda Shingen, of Kai Province, was a preeminent daimyo in feudal Japan with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.-Name:Shingen was called "Tarō" or "Katsuchiyo" during his childhood...
. During one of their battles, Uesugi personally led a raiding party against the Takeda camp. Breaking through, Uesugi attacked Takeda, who fought back using his iron war fan. Uesugi was forced to retreat when reinforcements did not arrive. - In 1593 Siamese King NaresuanNaresuanSomdet Phra Naresuan Maharat or Somdet Phra Sanphet II was the King of the Ayutthaya kingdom from 1590 until his death in 1605. Naresuan was one of Siam's most revered monarchs as he was known for his campaigns to free Siam from Burmese rule...
slew Burmese Crown Prince Minchit Sra, in a duel on the back of war elephants. - On April 14, 1612 the famous Japanese swordsman Miyamoto MusashiMiyamoto Musashi, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...
dueled his rival Sasaki KojiroSasaki Kojirowas a prominent Japanese swordsman widely considered as a Kensei, born in Fukui Prefecture. He lived during the Sengoku and early Edo periods and is most remembered for his death while battling Miyamoto Musashi in 1612.-History:...
on the island of Funajima. Musashi arrived late and unkempt to the appointed place. Musashi killed Sasaki with a bokkenBokkenA bokken , "wood", and ken, "sword") , is a Japanese wooden sword used for training. It is usually the size and shape of a katana, but is sometimes shaped like other swords, such as the wakizashi and tantō...
or wooden sword. He fashioned the bokken out of a boat oar on his way to the island. Sasaki's weapon of choice was the nodachiNodachiA nodachi is a large two-handed Japanese sword. Some have suggested that the meaning of "nodachi" is roughly the same as ōdachi meaning "large/great sword". A confusion between the terms has nearly synonymized "nodachi" with the very large "ōdachi"...
, a long sword. - 1906: In Istanbul, during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II, a duel between a young Kurdish aristocrat named Abdulrazzak Bedirkhan and the chief of police of the city Ridvan Pasha occurred. The police chief was killed and subsequently the entire Bedirkhan family was exiled.
Australian duels
- 1801: Captain John MacarthurJohn Macarthur (wool pioneer)John Macarthur was a British army officer, entrepreneur, politician, architect and pioneer of settlement in Australia. Macarthur is recognised as the pioneer of the wool industry that was to boom in Australia in the early 19th century and become a trademark of the nation...
duelled with William Paterson, shooting him in the shoulder. Macarthur was sent back to England to be court martialed. - 1851: Major Sir Thomas Mitchell confronted Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson in Sydney. Mitchell issued the challenge because Donaldson had publicly criticised the cost of the Surveyor General's Department. Both duellists missed.
British and Irish duels
- 1598: Playwright Ben JonsonBen JonsonBenjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
kills actor Gabriel Spenser - 1609: Sir George Wharton and Sir James Stuart; fought a duel over a game of cards in IslingtonIslingtonIslington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
. Both were killed. - 1609: Sir Hatton Cheke and Sir Thomas Dutton fought in Calais. Cheke was killed.
- 1613: Edward Bruce, 2nd Lord KinlossLord KinlossLord Kinloss is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1602 for Edward Bruce, later Master of the Rolls, with remainder to his heirs and assigns whatsoever. In 1604 he was also made Lord Bruce of Kinloss, with remainder to his heirs male, and in 1608 Lord Bruce of Kinloss, with...
and Sir Edward SackvilleEdward Sackville, 4th Earl of DorsetEdward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset KG was the son of Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset and the brother and heir of Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset.-Life:...
(later 4th Earl of DorsetEarl of DorsetEarl of Dorset is a title that has been created at least four times in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1411 for Thomas Beaufort, who was later created Duke of Exeter. The peerages became extinct on his death....
); fought a duel over Venetia StanleyVenetia StanleyVenetia Anastasia Stanley Digby was a celebrated beauty of the Stuart period , renowned for her racy good looks and mysterious death...
. They fought in Bergen-op-Zoom, Netherlands to avoid the wrath of the King; Lord Bruce was killed, but Venetia Stanley ended up marrying Sir Kenelm DigbyKenelm DigbySir Kenelm Digby was an English courtier and diplomat. He was also a highly reputed natural philosopher, and known as a leading Roman Catholic intellectual and Blackloist. For his versatility, Anthony à Wood called him the "magazine of all arts".-Early life and career:He was born at Gayhurst,...
. - 1613: Grey Brydges, 5th Baron ChandosGrey Brydges, 5th Baron ChandosGrey Brydges, 5th Baron Chandos was an English nobleman and courtier.-Early life:He was the only son of William Brydges, 4th Baron Chandos, who died on 18 November 1602, and Mary Hopton, who was daughter of Sir Owen Hopton. He was M.P. for Cricklade, in 1597.Brydges and his family were friendly...
and James HayJames Hay, 1st Earl of CarlisleJames Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle was a Scottish aristocrat.-Life:He was the son of Sir James Hay of Fingask , and of Margaret Murray, cousin of George Hay, afterwards 1st Earl of Kinnoull.He was knighted and taken into favor by James VI of Scotland, brought into England in 1603, treated as a "prime...
(later 1st Earl of CarlisleEarl of CarlisleEarl of Carlisle is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1322 when the soldier Andrew Harclay, 1st Baron Harclay was made Earl of Carlisle. He had already been summoned to Parliament as Lord Harclay in 1321...
) - 1652: George Brydges, 6th Baron ChandosGeorge Brydges, 6th Baron ChandosGeorge Brydges, 6th Baron Chandos was a supporter of Charles I of England during his struggle with Parliament, and distinguished himself at the first Battle of Newbury in 1643....
and Colonel Henry Compton (grandson of Henry Compton, 1st Baron ComptonHenry Compton, 1st Baron ComptonHenry Compton, 1st Baron Compton was an English peer.Compton was the son of Peter Compton and his wife Anne, daughter of George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, and a relative of Sir William Compton. In 1572 he was summoned to the House of Lords as Baron Compton, of Compton in the County of Warwick...
); Compton was killed, Chandos was found guilty of manslaughter and died whilst imprisoned. - 1668: George VilliersGeorge Villiers, 2nd Duke of BuckinghamGeorge Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, 20th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG, PC, FRS was an English statesman and poet.- Upbringing and education :...
(later 2nd Duke of BuckinghamDuke of BuckinghamThe titles Marquess and Duke of Buckingham, referring to Buckingham, have been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been Earls of Buckingham.-1444 creation:...
) and Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of ShrewsburyFrancis Talbot, 11th Earl of ShrewsburyFrancis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury, 11th Earl of Waterford was an English peer, the second son of the 10th Earl of Shrewsbury....
; Shrewsbury was killed, and George Villiers' second Sir J. Jenkins was killed by the Earl's second. - 1694: John LawJohn Law (economist)John Law was a Scottish economist who believed that money was only a means of exchange that did not constitute wealth in itself and that national wealth depended on trade...
and Edward Wilson; Wilson challenged Law over the affections of Elizabeth Villiers (later Countess of Orkney); Wilson was killed. Law was tried and found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to a fine, upon the ground that the offence only amounted to manslaughter. Wilson's brother appealed and had Law imprisoned but he managed to escape to the continent. - 1698: Oliver Le Neve and Sir Henry Hobart, 4th BaronetSir Henry Hobart, 4th BaronetSir Henry Hobart, 4th Baronet was an English Whig politician and baronet.-Background:He was the oldest son of Sir John Hobart, 3rd Baronet and his first wife Mary Hampden, daughter of John Hampden...
on Cawston HeathCawston, NorfolkCawston is a small village located approximately North of Norwich, off the B1149 main road to Holt. Nearby villages are Reepham and Aylsham.-Church of St Agnes:...
, NorfolkNorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
; Sir Henry was killed and Le Neve fled to HollandNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. http://www.leneve.com - 1711: Richard Thornhill, Esq and Sir Cholmeley Dering, 4th BaronetSir Cholmeley Dering, 4th BaronetSir Cholmeley Dering, 4th Baronet was an English politician and duellist.He was the eldest son of Sir Edward Dering, 3rd Baronet of Surrenden in Pluckley, Kent by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Cholmeley, 2nd Baronet of Whitby, Yorkshire...
; Sir Cholmeley was killed and Richard Thornhill convicted of manslaughter. - 1712: Charles Mohun, 4th Baron MohunCharles Mohun, 4th Baron MohunCharles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun was an English politician best known for his frequent participation in duels and his reputation as a rake....
and James Douglas, 4th Duke of HamiltonJames Douglas, 4th Duke of HamiltonLieutenant General Sir James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton and 1st Duke of Brandon KG KT was aScottish nobleman, the Premier Peer of Scotland and Keeper of the Palace of Holyroodhouse...
; both were killed. Their seconds George Macartney, Esq and Colonel John Hamilton were found guilty of manslaughter. - 1731: George Lockhart of Carnwath, Scottish spy, writer and politician, killed in a duel in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. - 1731: William Pulteney, 1st Earl of BathWilliam Pulteney, 1st Earl of BathWilliam Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, PC was an English politician, a Whig, created the first Earl of Bath in 1742 by King George II; he is sometimes stated to have been Prime Minister, for the shortest term ever , though most modern sources reckon that he cannot be considered to have held the...
and John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey of Ickworth - 1749: Captain Clarke R.N. and Captain Innis R.N; Innis was killed. Clarke was sentenced to death but received a Royal Pardon.
- 1762: John WilkesJohn WilkesJohn Wilkes was an English radical, journalist and politician.He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fought for the right of voters—rather than the House of Commons—to determine their representatives...
and Samuel MartinSamuel Martin (Secretary to the Treasury)Samuel Martin was a British politician and administrator.-Family:He was the son of Samuel Martin, the leading plantation owner on the West Indies island of Antigua, where he was born, and eldest half-brother of Sir Henry Martin, 1st Baronet , for many years naval commissioner at Portsmouth and...
in Hyde ParkHyde Park, LondonHyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
. Martin, in his place in the House of Commons, had alluded to Wilkes as a "stabber in the dark, a cowardly and malignant scoundrel." Wilkes prided himself as much upon his gallantry as upon his wit and loyalty, and lost no time in calling Martin out. The challenge was given as soon as the House adjourned, and the parties repaired at once to a copse in Hyde Park with a brace of pistols. They fired four times, when Wilkes fell, wounded in the abdomen. His antagonist, relenting, hastened up and insisted on helping him off the ground; but Wilkes, with comparative courtesy, as strenuously urged Martin to hurry away, so as to escape arrest. It afterwards appeared that Martin had been practising in a shooting gallery for six months before making the obnoxious speech in the House; and soon after, instead of being arrested, he received a valuable appointment from the ministry. From: 'Hyde Park', Old and New London: Volume 4 (1878), pp. 375–405. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45205. Date accessed: 25 December 2007. - 1765: William Byron, 5th Baron ByronWilliam Byron, 5th Baron ByronWilliam Byron, 5th Baron Byron , also known as "the Wicked Lord" and "the Devil Byron", was the poet George Gordon Byron's great uncle. He was the son of William Byron, 4th Baron Byron and his wife Hon...
and William Chaworth; Chaworth was killed. Byron was tried in the House of LordsHouse of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and acquitted of murder, but found guilty of manslaughter, for which he was fined. - 1772: Richard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
and Captain Matthews; as the result of a quarrel between the two concerning Elizabeth Linley, to whom Sheridan was already secretly married, both men went to Hyde ParkHyde Park, LondonHyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, but on finding it too crowded repaired instead to the Castle Tavern, Covent GardenCovent GardenCovent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, where they fought with swords. Both men were cut, but neither was seriously wounded. Sheridan won this duel as Mathews pleaded for his life after losing his sword. They fought a second duel in July at Kingsdown near Bath to resolve a dispute over the first duel. Both men's swords broke, and Mathews stabbed Sheridan several times, seriously wounding him, before escaping in a post chaise. - 1779: Charles James FoxCharles James FoxCharles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
and Mr Adams - 1780: William Petty, 2nd Earl of ShelburneWilliam Petty, 2nd Earl of ShelburneWilliam Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC , known as The Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Irish-born British Whig statesman who was the first Home Secretary in 1782 and then Prime Minister 1782–1783 during the final...
and Colonel Fullarton - 1783: Richard Martin ("Humanity Dick"), who engaged in over 100 duels, fought George "Fighting" FitzGerald in the CastlebarCastlebarCastlebar is the county town of, and at the centre of, County Mayo in Ireland. It is Mayo's largest town by population. The town's population exploded in the late 1990s, increasing by one-third in just six years, though this massive growth has slowed down greatly in recent years...
barrack yard. Later in the same year Martin's cousin, James Jordan forces a duel: Jordan is shot and dies of his wounds. As a result of this, Martin later refuses to duel with Theobald Wolfe ToneTheobald Wolfe ToneTheobald Wolfe Tone or Wolfe Tone , was a leading Irish revolutionary figure and one of the founding members of the United Irishmen and is regarded as the father of Irish Republicanism. He was captured by British forces at Lough Swilly in Donegal and taken prisoner...
, even though he was having an affair with his wife. - 1786: Lord MacartneyGeorge Macartney, 1st Earl MacartneyGeorge Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney, KB was an Irish-born British statesman, colonial administrator and diplomat. He is often remembered for his observation following Britain's success in the Seven Years War and subsequent territorial expansion at the Treaty of Paris that Britain now controlled...
and Major-General James StuartJames Stuart (d. 1793)Major-General James Stuart was a British Army officer who served in various colonial wars of the 18th century. His service of the British East India Company was marked by his conflict with Lord Pigot, the governor of Madras; Stuart's arrest of the latter in 1776 resulted in his suspension as...
; Lord Macartney was wounded. - 1787: Sir John MacPhersonJohn MacPherson (governor of India)John Macpherson, 1st Baronet , from Sleat, Isle of Skye, Scotland, was a Scottish administrator in India. He was the acting Governor-General of India from 1785 to 1786.-Early life:...
and a Major Browne; Browne had been British ResidentResident (title)A Resident, or in full Resident Minister, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indirect rule....
at the court of Shah Alam IIShah Alam IIShah Alam II , also known as Ali Gauhar, was a Mughal emperor of India. A son of Alamgir II, he was exiled to Allahabad in December 1759 by Ghazi-ud-Din, who appointed Shah Jahan III as the emperor. Later, he was nominated as the emperor by Ahmad Shah.Shah Alam II was considered the only and...
, he took offence at his recall and challenged MacPherson, the former Governor-General of IndiaGovernor-General of IndiaThe Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
, on the latter's return to Britain. A pistol ball passed through MacPherson's coat and another struck a pocketbook in his coat pocket, but the two men were uninjured. - 1789: HRH Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Lieutenant-Colonel Charles LennoxCharles Lennox, 4th Duke of RichmondCharles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox KG, PC was a British soldier and politician and Governor General of British North America.-Background:...
; Lennox had called the Prince out after the Prince had accused him of making ".. certain expressions unworthy of a gentleman". Lennox had no recollection of making such expressions and his demands for a retraction were refused. Lennox demanded satisfaction; the two men met with pistols on Wimbledon Common on 26 May 1789. According to a report in The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
by the seconds, Lord RawdonFrancis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of HastingsFrancis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings KG PC , styled The Honourable Francis Rawdon from birth until 1762 and as The Lord Rawdon between 1762 and 1783 and known as The Earl of Moira between 1793 and 1816, was an Irish-British politician and military officer who served as...
for the Prince and Lord WinchelseaGeorge Finch, 9th Earl of WinchilseaGeorge Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea KG PC FRS was an important figure in the history of cricket. His main contributions to the game were patronage and organisation but Winchilsea, an amateur, was also a very keen player....
for Lennox, Lennox's shot "grazed His Royal Highnesses' curl". The Prince then refused to fire stating that he had been called out to give satisfaction to Lennox and the satisfaction had been given and the matter was closed. - 1792: Lady Almeria Braddock and Mrs Elphinstone; so called "petticoat duel"; Lady Almeria Braddock felt insulted by Mrs Elphinstone and challenged her to a duel in London's Hyde ParkHyde Park, LondonHyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
after their genteel conversation turned to the subject of Lady Almeria's true age. The ladies first exchanged pistol shots in which Lady Almeria's hat was damaged. They then continued with swords until Mrs. Elphinstone received a wound to her arm and agreed to write Lady Almeria an apology. - 1798: William Pitt the YoungerWilliam Pitt the YoungerWilliam Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
and George TierneyGeorge TierneyGeorge Tierney PC was an English Whig politician.-Background and education:Born in Gibraltar, Tierney was the son of Thomas Tierney, a wealthy Irish merchant of London, who was living in Gibraltar as prize agent. He was sent to Eton and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he took the degree of Law in 1784... - 1799: Colonel Ashton and Major Allen; Duel took place in India; Ashton was killed.
- 1803: CaptainCaptain (Royal Navy)Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
James MacnamaraJames MacnamaraJames Macnamara was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
and Colonel Montgomery; over a dispute between their dogs fighting in Hyde Park. Both were wounded, Montgomery mortally. Macnamara was tried for manslaughter at the Old BaileyOld BaileyThe Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
but was acquitted. - 1807: Sir Francis Burdett, 5th BaronetSir Francis Burdett, 5th BaronetSir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet was an English reformist politician, the son of Francis Burdett and his wife Eleanor, daughter of William Jones of Ramsbury manor, Wiltshire, and grandson of Sir Robert Burdett, Bart...
and James Pauli; both men were wounded. - 1808: Major Campbell and Captain Boyd; Major Campbell was tried and executed for killing Captain Boyd.
- 1809: George CanningGeorge CanningGeorge Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...
and Lord Castlereagh; Canning was slightly wounded. - 1815: Daniel O'ConnellDaniel O'ConnellDaniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
and Captain John Norcot d'Esterre; d'Esterre was killed. - 1821: John Scott and Jonathon Henry Christie. Scott was the founder and editor of the London MagazineLondon MagazineThe London Magazine is a historied publication of arts, literature and miscellaneous interests. Its history ranges nearly three centuries and several reincarnations, publishing the likes of William Wordsworth, William S...
. The duel was born out of the Cockney SchoolCockney SchoolThe "Cockney School" refers to group of cockney poets writing in England in the second and third decade of the 19th century. The term came in the form of hostile reviews in Blackwood's Magazine in 1817. Its primary target was Leigh Hunt but included John Keats and William Hazlitt...
controversy. John Gibson LockhartJohn Gibson LockhartJohn Gibson Lockhart , was a Scottish writer and editor. He is best known as the author of the definitive "Life" of Sir Walter Scott...
had been abusing many of Scott's contributors in Blackwood's MagazineBlackwood's MagazineBlackwood's Magazine was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the Edinburgh Monthly Magazine. The first number appeared in April 1817 under the editorship of Thomas Pringle and James Cleghorn...
(under a pseudonym (Z), as was then common). In May 1820, Scott began a series of counter-articles, which provoked Lockhart into calling him "a liar and a scoundrel". In February 1820, Lockhart's London agent, J.H. Christie, made a provocative statement, and Scott challenged him. They met on 16 February 1821, at a farm between Camden TownCamden Town-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
and HampsteadHampsteadHampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
. Christie did not fire in the first round, but there was a misunderstanding between the seconds, resulting in a second round. Scott was hit in the abdomen, and died 11 days later. Christie and his second were tried for willful murder and acquitted; the collection for Scott's family was a notable radical cause. - 1822: Richard Temple-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos and Francis Russell, 7th Duke of BedfordFrancis Russell, 7th Duke of BedfordFrancis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford KG, PC , styled Marquess of Tavistock from 1802 to 1839, was a British peer and Whig politician.-Background and education:...
. - 1824: The 3rd Marquess of Londonderry and Ensign Battier; Battier was a cornet in the Marquess' regiment. When Battier's pistol misfired, he declined the offer of another shot and left. He was later horsewhipped by the Marquess' second Sir Henry Hardinge.
- 1826: David Landale, a linen merchant from KirkcaldyKirkcaldyKirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
, duelled with his bank manager, George Morgan, who had slandered his business reputation. This was the last duel to be fought on Scottish soil; George Morgan, a trained soldier, was shot through the chest and mortally wounded by Landale, who had never before held a pistol. Landale was tried for murder but found not guilty. The subject of a book "Duel" by his descendant James LandaleJames LandaleJames Landale is a BBC journalist who is the current Deputy Political Editor for BBC News.-Education:Landale was educated at Eton College, a famous independent school in the town of Eton in Berkshire, and was a contemporary of London Mayor Boris Johnson and Prime Minister David Cameron, followed by...
. - 1829: The Duke of WellingtonArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
and the 10th Earl of Winchilsea; both aimed wide. - 1835: Mr Roebuck and Mr Black, editor of the Morning ChronicleMorning ChronicleThe Morning Chronicle was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London, England, and published under various owners until 1862. It was most notable for having been the first employer of Charles Dickens, and for publishing the articles by Henry Mayhew which were collected and published in book format in...
- 1835: William Arden, 2nd Baron AlvanleyWilliam Arden, 2nd Baron AlvanleyWilliam Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley was the son of Richard Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley. He was an officer in the Coldstream Guards, attaining the rank of Captain in the service of the 50th Regiment of Foot....
and Morgan O'ConnellMorgan O'ConnellMorgan O'Connell , soldier, politician and son of Daniel O'Connell, the Liberator. He served in the Irish South American legion and the Austrian army. He was M.P. for Meath from 1832 until 1840 and afterwards assistant-registrar of deeds for Ireland from 1840 until 1868...
, son of Daniel O'ConnellDaniel O'ConnellDaniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
. Alvanley asserted that Morgan's father had been "purchased" by William Lamb, 2nd Viscount MelbourneWilliam Lamb, 2nd Viscount MelbourneWilliam Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...
on his accession to the office of Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, O'Connell retorted by calling Alvanley "a bloated buffoon". - 1839: The 3rd Marquess of Londonderry and Henry Gratton
- 1840: James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan and Captain Harvey Garnett Phipps Tuckett; Captain Tuckett was wounded. Cardigan was arrested, tried in the House of LordsHouse of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and was acquitted. - 1840: Prince Louis NapoleonNapoleon III of FranceLouis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
and Charles, Count Léon; Police arrived to prevent the duel; both men were arrested and taken to Bow StreetBow StreetBow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden, Westminster, London. It features as one of the streets on the standard London Monopoly board....
Prison. - 1843: Colonel Fawcett and Lieutenant Monro, in Camden; Colonel Fawcett was killed.
- 1845: Lieutenant Henry Hawkey, Royal MarinesRoyal MarinesThe Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
, and Captain James Alexander Seton, British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
; Captain Seton died on 2 June. This was the last recorded fatal duel fought in England. This is recorded in other sites as having taken place at Browndown Camp, Gosport, Hampshire.
Canadian duels
- 1800: John WhiteJohn White (Frontenac County)John White was a lawyer and politician in Upper Canada. He was the first attorney general for Upper Canada....
, 39, Upper Canada's first lawyer and a founder of the law society, was fatally shot on January 3, 1800 by a government official named John Small, who challenged him to the duel. White was alleged to have gossiped at a Christmas party that Mrs. Small was once the mistress of the Duke of Berkeley in England, who'd tired of her and paid Small to marry her and take her to the colonies. - 1817: John Ridout, 18, was shot dead on July 12, 1817 at the corner of what is now Bay St. and Grosvenor St. in TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
by Samuel Peters Jarvis, 25. The reason for the duel was unclear. On the count of two, the nervous Ridout discharged his pistol early, missing Jarvis by a wide margin. Ridout's second, James Small (whose father survived the only other duel in York) and Jarvis' second, Henry John BoultonHenry John BoultonHenry John Boulton, QC was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born at Little Holland House, Kensington, England, the son of D’Arcy Boulton, in 1790. Some time later, the family settled in New York state and then moved to Upper Canada around 1800. He studied law at York ...
insisted that Jarvis be allowed to make his shot. Ridout protested loudly and asked for another pistol, but Small and Boulton were adamant that the strict code of duelling must be observed. Jarvis shot and killed Ridout instantly. Jarvis was pardoned by the courts, even though he had shot an unarmed man. - 1819: What historians have called "The Most Ferocious Duel" in Canadian history took place on April 11, 1819, at Windmill Point near the Lachine CanalLachine CanalThe Lachine Canal is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine, Lasalle and Sud-Ouest.The canal gets its name from the French word for China...
. The opponents were William Caldwell, a doctor at the Montreal General HospitalMontreal General HospitalThe Montreal General Hospital is a hospital in Montreal, Canada, established on May 1, 1819 and an early teaching hospital. First located on the corner of Craig and St-Lawrence Streets with only 24 beds, it moved in 1822 to a new 72-bed building on Dorchester Street. It is currently situated on...
, and Michael O'SullivanMichael O'SullivanMichael O'Sullivan is a former English cricketer. He was a left-handed batsman, left-arm fast medium and slow left-arm orthodox bowler who played for Berkshire. He was born in Reading....
, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower CanadaLegislative Assembly of Lower CanadaThe Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791...
. The dispute arose when Caldwell accused O'Sullivan of lacking courage. The two opponents exchanged fire an unheard-of five times. O'Sullivan was wounded twice in the process, and in the final volley, he took a bullet to the chest and hit the ground. Caldwell's arm was shattered by a shot; a hole in his collar proved he narrowly missed being shot in the neck. Amazingly, neither participant died during the fight, although both took a long time to recover. O'Sullivan went on to become Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench in MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, and when he died in 1839, an autopsy revealed a bullet still lodged against the middle of his spine. - 1826: RudkinMark RudkinCaptain Mark Rudkin a member of the British Army stationed at St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada and the last person to duel in Newfoundland that caused the loss of life to Ensign John Philpot of the Royal Veteran Companies also stationed at St...
versus Philpot a duel fought in Newfoundland at St. John'sSt. John's, Newfoundland and LabradorSt. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
who met at West's Farm near Brine's Tavern at the foot of Robinson's Hill, adjacent to Brine's River to settle their seemingly long standing differences that was further exacerbated by the love of an Irish colleen who lived in a cottage near Quidi VidiQuidi VidiQuidi Vidi is a neighbourhood in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador....
and a game of cards that ended in an argument over the ownership of the pot. - 1833: The last fatal duel in Canada was fought in Perth, OntarioPerth, OntarioPerth is a town in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada . It is located on the Tay River, 83 km southwest of Ottawa, and is the seat of Lanark County.-History:...
on June 13, 1833. Two law students and former friends, John Wilson and Robert Lyon, quarrelled over remarks Lyon made about a local schoolteacher, Elizabeth Hughes. Lyon was killed in the second exchange of shots on a rain-soaked field. Wilson was acquitted of murder, eventually married Miss Hughes, became a Member of Parliament, and later a judge. - 1836: Two duelling politicians from Lower Canada were lucky to have sensible seconds. Clément-Charles Sabrevois de BleuryClément-Charles Sabrevois de BleuryLieutenant Colonel Clément-Charles Sabrevois de Bleury was a Canadian soldier, lawyer, politician and newspaper founder.-Early life:...
, a member of the Lower Canadian Legislative Assembly, insulted fellow politician Charles-Ovide Perreault. Perreault then struck de Bleury, and a duel was set. Both men were determined to settle the matter with pistols, but their seconds came up with a unique solution. The two foes would clasp hands and de Bleury would say, "I am sorry to have insulted you" while at the same time Perreault would say, "I am sorry to have struck you." They would then reply in unison, "I accept your apology." The tactic worked, and the situation was resolved without injury. - 1837: William Collis MeredithWilliam Collis MeredithThe Hon. Sir William Collis Meredith, Kt., Q.C., D.C.L. was Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec.-Early life:...
and James Scott. On Monday, 9 August 1837, at eight o’clock in the evening, Meredith (who had articled under the previously mentioned Clement-Charles Sabrevois de BleuryClément-Charles Sabrevois de BleuryLieutenant Colonel Clément-Charles Sabrevois de Bleury was a Canadian soldier, lawyer, politician and newspaper founder.-Early life:...
from 1831 to 1833) and Scott (no stranger to duels) stepped out to face one another on the slopes of Mount Royal, behind Montreal. Earlier that day, following a dispute over legal costs, Meredith had challenged Scott. Meredith chose James M. Blackwood to second him, whilst Scott's choice was Louis-Fereol Pelletier. The pistols used were Meredith's which he had bought in London, on a previous trip to England. On the first exchange Scott took a bullet high up in his thigh, and the duel was called to a stop. The bullet lodged itself in Scott's thigh bone in such a way that it could not be removed by doctors, which caused him great discomfort for the rest of his days. Ironically for Scott, this was exactly where he had shot Sweeney Campbell in a duel when they were students. In the early 1850s (Scott died in 1852), when both the adversaries had become judges, one of the sights then to see was Meredith helping his brother judge up the steep Court House steps, a result of the lameness in his leg that had remained with Scott since their encounter. Meredith was later knighted and went on to serve as Chief Justice of the Superior Court of the Province of Quebec. - 1840: Joseph HoweJoseph HoweJoseph Howe, PC was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, and public servant. He is one of Nova Scotia's greatest and best-loved politicians...
was called out by a member of Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
n high society for his populist writing. When his opponent fired first and missed, Howe fired his shot in the air and won the right to refuse future challenges. - 1873: The last duel in what is now Canada occurred in August 1873, in a field near St. John'sSt. John's, Newfoundland and LabradorSt. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
, Newfoundland (which was not Canadian territory at the time). The duellists, Mr. Dooley and Mr. Healey, once friends, had fallen in love with the same young lady, and had quarrelled bitterly over her. One challenged the other to a duel, and they quickly arranged a time and place. No one else was present that morning except the two men's seconds. Dooley and Healey were determined to proceed in the 'honourable' way, but as they stood back-to-back with their pistols raised, they must have questioned what they were doing. Nerves gave way to terror as they slowly began pacing away from each other. When they had counted off the standard ten yards, they turned and fired. Dooley hit the ground immediately. Healey, believing he had killed Dooley, was seized with horror. But Dooley had merely fainted; the seconds confessed they had so feared the outcome that they loaded the pistols with blanks. Although this was a serious breach of duelling etiquette, both opponents gratefully agreed that honour had indeed been satisfied.
French duels
- 27 December 1386: Last legal judicial duel in France fought between Jean de CarrougesJean de CarrougesSir Jean de Carrouges IV was a fourteenth century French knight who governed estates in Normandy as a vassal of Count Pierre d'Alençon and served under Admiral Jean de Vienne in several campaigns against the English and the forces of the Ottoman Empire...
and Jacques Le GrisJacques Le GrisSir Jacques Le Gris was a squire and knight in fourteenth century France who gained fame and infamy when he engaged in the last judicial duel permitted by the Parlement of Paris after he was accused of rape by the wife of his neighbour and rival Sir Jean de Carrouges...
over charges of rape Carrouges brought against Le Gris on behalf of his wife. After a lengthy trial and fight, Carrouges killed his opponent, thus "proving" his charges. - July 10, 1547: Guy Chabot de Jarnac, in a judicial duel with François de Vivonne de la Châtaigneraie, a favourite of the King and one of France's greatest swordsmen. Jarnac fooled La Châtaigneraie with a feint and hit him with a slash to the hamstrings. His dignity offended, La Châtaigneraie refused medical aid, and died. This both ended the practice of trial by combatTrial by combatTrial by combat was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession, in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the fight was proclaimed to be right. In essence, it is a judicially sanctioned duel...
in France, and created the myth of "Le Coup de Jarnac" - a legendary strike that supposedly allowed amateurs to defeat masters. - 27 April 1578: Duel of the Mignons claims the lives of two favorites of Henry III of FranceHenry III of FranceHenry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
and two favorites of Henry I, Duke of GuiseHenry I, Duke of GuiseHenry I, Prince of Joinville, Duke of Guise, Count of Eu , sometimes called Le Balafré, "the scarred", was the eldest son of Francis, Duke of Guise, and Anna d'Este...
. - 1641: Kenelm DigbyKenelm DigbySir Kenelm Digby was an English courtier and diplomat. He was also a highly reputed natural philosopher, and known as a leading Roman Catholic intellectual and Blackloist. For his versatility, Anthony à Wood called him the "magazine of all arts".-Early life and career:He was born at Gayhurst,...
and a French nobleman named Mont le Ros. Digby, a founding member of the Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, was attending a banquet in France when the Frenchman insulted King Charles I of EnglandCharles I of EnglandCharles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
and Digby challenged him to a duel. Digby wrote that he ".. run his rapier into the French Lord's breast until it came out of his throat again"; Mont le Ros fell dead. - 1830: French writer Sainte-Beuve and one of the owners of Le Globe newspaper, Paul-François Dubois, fought a duel under a heavy rain. Sainte-Beuve held his umbrella during the duel claiming that he did not mind dying but that he would not get wet.
- 1832: Évariste GaloisÉvariste GaloisÉvariste Galois was a French mathematician born in Bourg-la-Reine. While still in his teens, he was able to determine a necessary and sufficient condition for a polynomial to be solvable by radicals, thereby solving a long-standing problem...
and (possibly) Pescheux d'Herbinville; Évariste GaloisÉvariste GaloisÉvariste Galois was a French mathematician born in Bourg-la-Reine. While still in his teens, he was able to determine a necessary and sufficient condition for a polynomial to be solvable by radicals, thereby solving a long-standing problem...
, the French mathematician, died of his wounds at the age of twenty. - 23 February 1870: Édouard ManetÉdouard ManetÉdouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
and Louis Edmond DurantyLouis Edmond DurantyLouis Edmond Duranty was a prolific novelist and art critic.Duranty supported the realist cause and later the Impressionists. He was challenged to a duel in 1870 by Édouard Manet over an affront. He was a friend of Edgar Degas, who painted a celebrated portrait of him in 1879 . He was a frequent...
; Duranty, an art critic and friend of Manet, had written only the briefest of commentary on two works of art that Manet had entered for exhibition. The frustrated Manet collared Duranty at the Café GuerboisCafé GuerboisCafé Guerbois, on Avenue de Clichy in Paris, was the site of late 19th century discussions and planning amongst artists, writers and art lovers – the bohèmes , in contrast to the bourgeois....
and slapped him. Duranty's demands for an apology were refused and so the men fought a duel with swords in the Forest of Saint-Germain-en-LayeForest of Saint-Germain-en-LayeThe Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye or Forêt de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, is a dominial forest of 35 km² in area which lies in a meander of the River Seine, France. Situated 20 km West of Paris, between Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Maisons-Laffitte, Achères and Poissy, It is situated entirely...
three days later on the 23rd. Émile ZolaÉmile ZolaÉmile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
acted as Manet's second and Paul AlexisPaul AlexisPaul Alexis was a French novelist, dramatist, and journalist. He is best remembered today as the friend and biographer of Émile Zola.-Life:...
acted for Duranty. After Duranty received a wound above the right breast the seconds stepped in and declared that honour had been satisfied. The men remained friends despite the encounter. - 1888: General George Boulanger and Charles FloquetCharles Floquet-Biography:He was born at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port . He studied law in Paris, and was called to the bar in 1851. The coup d'état of that year aroused the strenuous opposition of Floquet, who had, while yet a student, given proof of his republican sympathies by taking part in the fighting of 1848...
(Prime Minister of the French Republic); the General was wounded in the throat but survived. - 5 February 1897: Marcel ProustMarcel ProustValentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
fought journalist Jean LorrainJean LorrainJean Lorrain , born Paul Duval, was a French poet and novelist of the Symbolist school....
, after Lorrain published an excoriating review of Proust's first book "Pleasures and Days" and hinted that Proust was having an affair with Madame Alphonse DaudetAlphonse DaudetAlphonse Daudet was a French novelist. He was the father of Léon Daudet and Lucien Daudet.- Early life :Alphonse Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the bourgeoisie. The father, Vincent Daudet, was a silk manufacturer — a man dogged through life by misfortune...
's son, LucienLucien DaudetLucien Daudet was a French writer, the son of Alphonse Daudet. Although a prolific novelist and painter, he was never really able to trump his father's greater reputation and is now primarily remembered for his ties to fellow novelist Marcel Proust...
. Proust and Lorrain exchanged shots at 25 paces. Proust fired first, his bullet hitting the ground by Lorrain's foot. Lorrain's shot missed, and the seconds agreed that honor had been satisfied.
Italian duels
- 1921: Benito MussoliniBenito MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
seriously wounded Francisco Ciccotti, at the time an editor in Rome, in a duel with swords. The duel lasted an hour and a quarter and ended with Ciccotti unable to continue due to wounds received.
New Zealand duels
- 1847: Colonel William WakefieldWilliam WakefieldWilliam Hayward Wakefield was an English colonel, the leader of the first colonizing expedition to New Zealand and one of the founders of Wellington. In 1826, he married Emily Sidney, a daughter of Sir John Sidney.-Early life:...
and Dr Isaac FeatherstonIsaac FeatherstonDr. Isaac Earl Featherston was a New Zealand politician, and was known for his advocacy for the establishment of New Zealand self-government, and the importance of the provincial governments.-Early life:...
(who was his doctor) met in Wellington after Featherston had questioned Wakefield's honesty in a newspaper editorial on the New Zealand CompanyNew Zealand CompanyThe New Zealand Company originated in London in 1837 as the New Zealand Association with the aim of promoting the "systematic" colonisation of New Zealand. The association, and later the company, intended to follow the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of...
land policy. Featherston fired and missed, then Wakefield fired into the air - saying that he would not shoot a man with seven daughters. See 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand for other New Zealand duels.
Portuguese duels
- 1924: Prime Minister Álvaro de CastroÁlvaro de CastroÁlvaro Xavier de Castro was Prime Minister of Portugal from November 20 to November 30, 1920 and from December 18, 1923 to July 6, 1924.-Early career:...
fought a duel with swords with Flight Captain Ribiero over a political dispute. The duel ended with Ribiero being wounded in the arm.
Russian duels
- 1022: TmutarakanTmutarakanTmutarakan was a Mediaeval Russian principality and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. Its site was the ancient Greek colony of Hermonassa . It was situated on the Taman peninsula, in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia,...
' Prince Mstislav the BraveMstislav of ChernigovMstislav of Chernigov was the earliest attested ruler of Chernigov . He was Vladimir the Great's son, probably by Rogneda of Polotsk, although his exact position in the family has been disputed. It is not clear, for instance, whether Yaroslav the Wise was his younger or elder brother...
and Kasogs Prince Rededya. - September 8, 1380: Alexander PeresvetAlexander PeresvetAlexander Peresvet, also spelled Peresviet , was a Russian Orthodox Christian monk who fought in a single combat with the Tatar champion Temir-murza at the opening of the Battle of Kulikovo , where they killed each other.He is believed to have hailed from the Bryansk area and took...
and TatarGolden HordeThe Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
champion Chelubey. - 1666: First recorded Russian duel featured two foreigners living at the German QuarterGerman QuarterGerman Quarter, also known as the Kukuy Quarter was a neighborhood in the northeast of Moscow, located on the right bank of the Yauza River east of Kukuy Creek , within present-day Basmanny District of Moscow....
- Major Patrick GordonPatrick GordonPatrick Leopold Gordon was general of the Imperial Russian army, of Scottish origin. He was descended from a Scottish family of Aberdeenshire, holders of the small estate of Auchleuchries, the family were connected with the house of Haddo.- Life :He was raised and remained a lifelong Catholic, at...
and Major Montgomery. - 1817: The honour of celebrated ballerina Avdotia IstominaAvdotia IstominaEvdokia or Avdotia Ilyinichna Istomina was the most celebrated Russian ballerina of the 19th century.She was orphaned early. But she was lucky: she was accepted into the Imperial Theater School, where children can live in complete security.A pupil of Charles Didelot, she debuted in the Imperial...
occasioned a fourfold duel: kammerjunker count Alexander Zavadovsky kills podporutchik (lieutenant) of Chevalier Guards Regiment Basily SheremetevSheremetevThe Sheremetev family was one of the wealthiest and most influential noble families of Russia.The family held many high commanding ranks in the Russian military, governorships and eventually the rank of Count of the Russian Empire...
(from not-titulated cadet branche of Sheremetev family), while the future DecembristDecembrist revoltThe Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising took place in Imperial Russia on 14 December , 1825. Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession...
Yakubovich shot through a palm of the playwright Alexander Griboedov. - 1823: Mysterious duel of Aleksandr PushkinAleksandr PushkinAlexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was a Russian author of the Romantic era who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature....
with the poet Kondraty Ryleyev, who was also a leader of the Decembrists - 1823: General and rising statesman Pavel KiselyovPavel KiselyovCount Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselyov or Kiseleff is generally regarded as the most brilliant Russian reformer during Nicholas I's generally conservative reign.- Early military career :...
kills general Ivan Mordvinov; the duel was Mordvinov's call - 1820s: Fyodor Ivanovich TolstoyFyodor Ivanovich TolstoyCount Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy , also known as the "American" was a Russian nobleman from the well-known Tolstoy family. Possessed of an unusual temper, he became famous for his gambling, his passion for duels, and his voyage to North America, where he earned his nickname...
killed eleven officers in various duels - 1836: Nicholas I of RussiaNicholas I of RussiaNicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
challenged by a nobleman - 1837: The most famous and talked about Russian duel: Aleksandr PushkinAleksandr PushkinAlexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was a Russian author of the Romantic era who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature....
mortally wounded in a duel at the Black RivuletChernaya River (Saint Petersburg)The Chernaya River , originally Mustajogi also known as the Tchernaya Rechka or Black River, is a small river in Saint Petersburg....
with a French officer Georges d'AnthèsGeorges d'AnthèsGeorges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès, baron was a French military officer and politician. Despite his later career as a senator under the Second French Empire, d'Anthès's name is most famous because he killed Russia's greatest poet, Alexander Pushkin in a duel.Born in Colmar to a French royalist...
, rumoured to be his wife's lover. D'Anthès went on to become French minister and senator and married Pushkin's sister-in-law (a few weeks before the duel, in a last attempt to avoid the confrontation). - 1840: There was to be a duel between Mikhail BakuninMikhail BakuninMikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin was a well-known Russian revolutionary and theorist of collectivist anarchism. He has also often been called the father of anarchist theory in general. Bakunin grew up near Moscow, where he moved to study philosophy and began to read the French Encyclopedists,...
and Mikhail KatkovMikhail KatkovMikhail Nikiforovich Katkov was a conservative Russian journalist influential during the reign of Alexander III.Katkov was born of a Russian government official and a Georgian noblewoman...
, but it was called off. - 1841: Mikhail LermontovMikhail LermontovMikhail Yuryevich Lermontov , a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", became the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death in 1837. Lermontov is considered the supreme poet of Russian literature alongside Pushkin and the greatest...
killed in a duel with Nikolai MartynovNikolai MartynovNikolai Solomonovich Martynov was the Russian army officer who fatally shot the poet Mikhail Lermontov in a duel on July 27, 1841.-External links: *...
, a year after his duel with De Barante, son of the French ambassador to Russia. - 1907: Parliamentary debates leading to a duel between Peter StolypinPyotr StolypinPyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin served as the leader of the 3rd DUMA—from 1906 to 1911. His tenure was marked by efforts to repress revolutionary groups, as well as for the institution of noteworthy agrarian reforms. Stolypin hoped, through his reforms, to stem peasant unrest by creating a class of...
and Fyodor Rodichev. - 1908: Lieutenant General Constantine N. Smirnov was seriously wounded in a pistol duel with Lieutenant General Foch. Foch challenged Smirnov after Smirnov publicly accused Foch of incompetence during the Siege of Port ArthurSiege of Port ArthurThe Siege of Port Arthur , 1 August 1904 – 2 January 1905, the deep-water port and Russian naval base at the tip of the Liaotung Peninsula in Manchuria, was the longest and most violent land battle of the Russo-Japanese War....
. - 1909: Another parliamentary duel - Alexander GuchkovAlexander GuchkovAlexander Ivanovich Guchkov was a Russian politician, Chairman of the Duma and Minister of War in the Russian Provisional Government.-Early years:...
vs Count Sergey UvarovSergey UvarovCount Sergey Semionovich Uvarov was a Russian classical scholar best remembered as an influential imperial statesman....
. - 1909: Two first-rank Russian poets, Nikolay GumilyovNikolay GumilyovNikolay Stepanovich Gumilev was an influential Russian poet who founded the acmeism movement.-Early life and poems:Nikolai was born in the town of Kronstadt on Kotlin Island, into the family of Stepan Yakovlevich Gumilev , a naval physician, and Anna Ivanovna L'vova . His childhood nickname was...
and Maksimilian Voloshin, duelling for the heart of a non-existent woman, poet Cherubina de GabriakCherubina de GabriakCherubina de Gabriak was a literary pseudonym of Elisaveta Ivanovna Dmitrieva possibly together with Maximilian Voloshin.-Mysterious poet:...
, at the Black RivuletChernaya River (Saint Petersburg)The Chernaya River , originally Mustajogi also known as the Tchernaya Rechka or Black River, is a small river in Saint Petersburg....
in St Petersburg.
Spanish Duels
- 1569 Miguel de CervantesMiguel de CervantesMiguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
bated but did not kill Antonio Sigura. - 1611 holy Thursday, Francisco de QuevedoFrancisco de QuevedoFrancisco Gómez de Quevedo y Santibáñez Villegas was a Spanish nobleman, politician and writer of the Baroque era. Along with his lifelong rival, Luis de Góngora, Quevedo was one of the most prominent Spanish poets of the age. His style is characterized by what was called conceptismo...
killed a man with his sword for hitting a lady in a church. - 12 March 1870 Duel between Antonio de Orleans, duke of Montepensier and Enrique de Borbón, Duke of SevilleInfante Enrique, Duke of SevilleInfante Enrique, Duke of Seville was a member of the House of Bourbon, Spanish Infante and Duke of Seville, grandson of Charles IV of Spain. He was known for his progressive, even revolutionary ideas during the reign of his cousin and sister-in-law, Isabella II of Spain.-Early life:Infante Enrique...
. Both were brothers-in-law of Isabel II. Montepensier killed Enrique de Borbón. - February 1904 Vicente Blasco IbáñezVicente Blasco IbáñezVicente Blasco Ibáñez was a Spanish realist novelist writing in Spanish, a screenwriter and occasional film director....
with a policeman. Vicente was hurt.
South American Duels
- 1814: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Colonel Luis CarreraLuis CarreraColonel Luis Florentino Juan Manuel Silvestre de los Dolores de la Carrera y Verdugo was a Chilean military officer who fought in the Chilean War of Independence. Together with his brothers José Miguel and Juan José, they were some of most important leaders of Chilean struggle for independence...
, brother of Chilean revolutionary General José Miguel CarreraJosé Miguel CarreraJosé Miguel Carrera Verdugo was a Chilean general, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most important leader of the Chilean War of Independence during the period of the Patria Vieja...
, killed Colonel Juan MackennaJuan MackennaBrigadier Juan Mackenna was an Irish-born, Chilean military officer and hero of the Chilean War of Independence. He is considered to have been the creator of the Corps of Military Engineers of the Chilean Army....
in duel. The reason was the sense of honour that the Carreras had, as Mackenna disrespected the family name many times. This was the second time that both duellists met, and the third time that Mackenna was challenged in duel by a Carrera (the first time it was by Luis Carrera himself, while the second time it was by his brother, Juan José Carrera, the oldest of the brothers and noticeable by his strength. Yet Mackenna was able to run away from the duels both times). They duelled at night, in the first round, Mackenna shot at his head, but missed and blew Carrera's hat away, in the second round, Carrera was able to hit Mackenna in his hand, blowing his thumb away and piercing a hole in his throat, thus killing Mackenna. Carrera was arrested the next day, particularly because Mackenna was part of a secret society called Lautaro Lodge, which had the control of the government at the time. - 1920: Uruguay. Former President José Batlle y OrdóñezJosé Batlle y OrdóñezJosé Pablo Torcuato Batlle y Ordóñez was the president of Uruguay in 1899 and from 1903 until 1907 and for a further term from 1911 to 1915. He was the son of former president, Lorenzo Batlle y Grau. His children César, Rafael and Lorenzo Batlle Pacheco were actively engaged in politics...
shot and killed Washington Beltrán BarbatWashington Beltrán BarbatWashington Beltrán Barbat was a Uruguayan political figure and journalist.-Background and career:Originally from Tacuarembó, Beltrán moved to Montevideo and became a lawyer and a prolific journalist and writer...
in a formal duel. The former president challenged Beltrán, a journalist, after he became offended by statements published by Beltrán in the newspaper El PaísEl País (Montevideo)El País is a Uruguayan newspaper, published for the first time on September 14, 1918, and distributed nation-wide.Founded and published in Montevideo, El País was founded and directed by Leonel Aguirre, Eduardo Rodríguez Larreta and Washington Beltrán Barbat.Originally it was a political newspaper...
. The former president was no stranger to duels having previously challenged two others, whom he considered to have besmirched his dignity.
- 1952: Chile. Then-senator Salvador AllendeSalvador AllendeSalvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
and his colleague Raúl RettigRaúl RettigRaúl Rettig Guissen , was a Chilean politician and lawyer.A member of the Radical Party, between 1938 and 1940 he served as under-secretary of the interior and, later, at the foreign affairs ministry. He was elected to the Senate in 1949...
(later president of ChilePresident of ChileThe President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...
and head of a commission that investigated human rights violations committed during the 1973–1990 military rule in ChileGovernment Junta of Chile (1973)Government Junta of Chile was the military junta established to rule Chile during the military dictatorship that followed the overthrow of President Salvador Allende in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. It was the executive and legislative branch of government until December 17, 1974...
, respectively), agreed to fire one shot on each other and both failed. At that time duelling was already illegal in Chile.
Swedish duels
- 1788: Count Adolph RibbingAdolph RibbingAdolph Ludvig Ribbing, later called Adolph de Leuven , was a Swedish count and politician. He participated in the regicide of Gustav III of Sweden in 1792....
and Baron Hans Henrik von Essen; the duel was held because Essen's proposal had been accepted by the father of a woman, the heiress Charlotta Eleonora De Geer, whom Ribbing had also proposed to and whom he believed to be in love with him. Essen was injured and Ribbing declared winner. The duel was regarded a scandal and a crime against the king
Swiss duels
- August 28, 1864: Ferdinand LassalleFerdinand LassalleFerdinand Lassalle was a German-Jewish jurist and socialist political activist.-Early life:Ferdinand Lassalle was born on 11 April 1825 in Breslau , Silesia to a prosperous Jewish family descending from Upper Silesian Loslau...
and Count von RacowitzaCount von RacowitzaBajor Janko Prince von Racowitza was a nobleman from Wallachia, who participated in a notable duel on 28. August 1864. He had come from Romania to Berlin in 1856, where studied philosophy and law at Berlin university. He became a member of a German Student Corps there.The diplomate in Bavarian...
; Lassalle was mortally wounded, and died three days later. Racowitza, however, also died in the next year.
Proposed duels
- In the summer of 30 BC Mark AntonyMark AntonyMarcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
challenged Octavian to a duel, after Octavian defeated Antony at the battle of ActiumBattle of ActiumThe Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic. It was fought between the forces of Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC, on the Ionian Sea near the city of Actium, at the Roman...
the year before and threatened to take AlexandriaAlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. Octavian refused the challenge. - In 1943 German field marshalField MarshalField Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Günther von KlugeGünther von KlugeGünther Adolf Ferdinand “Hans” von Kluge was a German military leader. He was born in Posen into a Prussian military family. Kluge rose to the rank of Field Marshal in the Wehrmacht. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
challenged generalGeneralA general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Heinz GuderianHeinz GuderianHeinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...
to a duel with pistols, after several confrontations during the preparations for the Battle of KurskBattle of KurskThe Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
. Although Guderian accepted, the duel did not happen because Hitler refused to give his permission. - In October 2002, four months before the US invasion of Iraq, Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin RamadanTaha Yassin RamadanTaha Yasin Ramadan al-Jizrawi was a prominent Iraqi Kurd, serving as Vice President of Iraq from March 1991 to the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003....
suggested U.S. President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Saddam HusseinSaddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
settle their difference in a duel. He reasoned this would not only serve as an alternative to a war that was certain to damage Iraq's infrastructure, but that it would also reduce the suffering of the Iraqi and American peoples. Ramadan's offer included the possibility that a group of US officials would face off with a group of Iraqi officials of same or similar rank (President v. President, Vice President v. Vice President, etc.). Ramadan proposed that the duel be held in a neutral land, with each party using the same weapons, and with UN Secretary General Kofi AnnanKofi AnnanKofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
presiding as the supervisor. On behalf of President Bush, White House Press SecretaryWhite House Press SecretaryThe White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the government administration....
Ari FleischerAri FleischerOn May 19, 2003, he announced that he would resign during the summer, citing a desire to spend more time with his wife and to work in the private sector...
declined the offer. - During the 2004 Republican National Convention2004 Republican National ConventionThe 2004 Republican National Convention, the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States, took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York...
, Georgia Senator Zell MillerZell MillerZell Bryan Miller is an American politician from the US state of Georgia. A Democrat, Miller served as Lieutenant Governor from 1975 to 1991, 79th Governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999, and as United States Senator from 2000 to 2005....
, a conservative Democrat who supported the reelection of President Bush, angrily retorted to political commentator Chris MatthewsChris MatthewsChristopher John "Chris" Matthews is an American news anchor and political commentator, known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC...
that he wished he lived in a time when he could challenge someone to a duel. The satellite connection between the two was bad, and Senator Miller erroneously heard Matthews insult Southern voters.
Duels in legend and mythology
Notable examples of single combat in legend and mythology- David vs. Goliath
- Trojan WarTrojan WarIn Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
- MenelausMenelausMenelaus may refer to;*Menelaus, one of the two most known Atrides, a king of Sparta and son of Atreus and Aerope*Menelaus on the Moon, named after Menelaus of Alexandria.*Menelaus , brother of Ptolemy I Soter...
vs. ParisParis (mythology)Paris , the son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War... - AchillesAchillesIn Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
vs. HectorHectorIn Greek mythology, Hectōr , or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy, he was a prince of the royal house and the...
- Menelaus
- RomulusRomulus- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
vs. Acro, king of the Caeninenses
Duels in fiction
- Eugene OneginEugene OneginEugene Onegin is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin.It is a classic of Russian literature, and its eponymous protagonist has served as the model for a number of Russian literary heroes . It was published in serial form between 1825 and 1832...
by Aleksandr PushkinAleksandr PushkinAlexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was a Russian author of the Romantic era who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature....
(who was himself killed in a duel). Other Pushkin's works featuring duels are The Captain's DaughterThe Captain's DaughterThe Captain's Daughter is a historical novel by the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. It was first published in 1836 in the fourth issue of the literary journal Sovremennik. The novel is a romanticized account of Pugachev's Rebellion in 1773-1774....
, Gunshot, Caucasian Romance, and The Stone GuestThe Stone GuestThe Stone Guest is a poetic drama by Alexander Pushkin based on the Spanish legend of Don Juan. The Stone Guest was written in 1830 as part of his four short plays known as The Little Tragedies...
. - Mikhail LermontovMikhail LermontovMikhail Yuryevich Lermontov , a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", became the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death in 1837. Lermontov is considered the supreme poet of Russian literature alongside Pushkin and the greatest...
's novel A Hero of Our TimeA Hero of Our TimeA Hero of Our Time is a novel by Mikhail Lermontov, written in 1839 and revised in 1841. It is an example of the superfluous man novel, noted for its compelling Byronic hero Pechorin and for the beautiful descriptions of the Caucasus...
has a duel scene thought prophetic of the duel which would bring about the author's death - The Princess BrideThe Princess BrideThe Princess Bride is a 1973 fantasy novel written by William Goldman. It was originally published in the United States by Harcourt Brace, while in the UK it is/was published by Bloomsbury Publishing....
features several sword duels. - Westley (Dread Pirate Roberts) versus Iñigo Montoya: Inigo loses but survives.
- Inigo Montoya versus Count Rugen: Inigo avenges his father's death.
- The Three MusketeersThe Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard...
by Alexandre Dumas, pèreAlexandre Dumas, pèreAlexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
; D'ArtagnanD'ArtagnanCharles Ogier de Batz de Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard and died at the Siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War. A fictionalized account of his life by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras formed the basis for the d'Artagnan Romances of...
commits himself to fight three consecutive duels with AthosAthos (fictional character)Olivier d'Athos de la Fère, Comte de la Fère is a fictional character, a Musketeer of the Guard in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père....
, PorthosPorthosPorthos, Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers Athos and Aramis are friends of the novel's protagonist, d'Artagnan...
, and AramisAramisC. René d'Aramis de Vannes is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père... - Cyrano de BergeracCyrano de BergeracHercule-Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French dramatist and duelist. He is now best remembered for the works of fiction which have been woven, often very loosely, around his life story, most notably the 1897 play by Edmond Rostand...
by Edmond RostandEdmond RostandEdmond Eugène Alexis Rostand was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism, and is best known for his play Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand's romantic plays provided an alternative to the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century...
; Cyrano is famous for his dueling. - The Years Between, four-book series by Paul Féval, filsPaul Féval, filsPaul Auguste Jean Nicolas Féval was a French adventure novelist, like his father Paul Féval, père...
; and M Lassez: - 1928 features the on-going conflict between the fiery Cyrano de Bergerac and D'Artagnan the ageing legend. Three times they fight; various interruptions prevent either Gascon from receiving satisfaction. - Les Liaisons dangereusesLes Liaisons dangereusesLes Liaisons dangereuses is a French epistolary novel by Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu from March 23, 1782....
by Pierre Choderlos de LaclosPierre Choderlos de LaclosPierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos was a French novelist, official and army general, best known for writing the epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses ....
; Valmont versus Danceny, Valmont allows himself to be killed - A Sentimental Education by Flaubert
- The Duel (also known as The Point of Honor: A Military Tale) by Joseph ConradJoseph ConradJoseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
; Two officers of Napoleon Bonaparte's army fight a number of duels over many years. The story was transferred to the screen in 1977 by Ridley ScottRidley ScottSir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
as The DuellistsThe DuellistsThe Duellists is a 1977 historical drama film that was Ridley Scott's first feature film as a director. It won the Best Debut Film award at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival...
. - The Duel, a philosophic novella by Anton ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
- War and PeaceWar and PeaceWar and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...
: Pierre and Dolokhov duel. Leo TolstoyLeo TolstoyLev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
himself barely escaped duels with fellow writers Ivan TurgenevIvan TurgenevIvan Sergeyevich Turgenev was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His first major publication, a short story collection entitled A Sportsman's Sketches, is a milestone of Russian Realism, and his novel Fathers and Sons is regarded as one of the major works of 19th-century...
and Nikolai NekrasovNikolai Alekseevich NekrasovNikolay Alexeyevich Nekrasov was a Russian poet, writer, critic and publisher, whose deeply compassionate poems about peasant Russia won him Fyodor Dostoyevsky's admiration and made him the hero of liberal and radical circles of Russian intelligentsia, as represented by Vissarion Belinsky and...
. - Sense and SensibilitySense and SensibilitySense and Sensibility, published in 1811, is a British romance novel by Jane Austen, her first published work under the pseudonym, "A Lady." Jane Austen is considered a pioneer of the romance genre of novels, and for the realism portrayed in her novels, is one the most widely read writers in...
by Jane AustenJane AustenJane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
has an "offstage" duel between Colonel Brandon and Mr. Willoughby over the seduction of Colonel Brandon's adopted daughter. - Fathers and SonsFathers and SonsFathers and Sons is an 1862 novel by Ivan Turgenev, his best known work. The title of this work in Russian is Отцы и дети , which literally means "Fathers and Children"; the work is often translated to Fathers and Sons in English for reasons of euphony.- Historical context and notes :The fathers...
: Kirsanov and Bazarov duel is a culminating point of the novel; Turgenev also wrote a short story called Duellist. - Vladimir NabokovVladimir NabokovVladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
's Ada, or Ardour. - HMS Surprise by Patrick O'BrianPatrick O'BrianPatrick O'Brian, CBE , born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen...
; Stephen Maturin fights and kills Richard Canning over Diana Villers. Based on the Ashton–Allen duel? - Mr. Midshipman HornblowerMr. Midshipman HornblowerMr. Midshipman Hornblower is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester. Although it may be considered as the first episode in the Hornblower saga, it was written as a prequel; the first Hornblower novel, The Happy Return, was published in 1937.-Plot introduction:Horatio Hornblower...
in the Horatio Hornblower series by C. S. ForesterC. S. ForesterCecil Scott "C.S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen...
; Horatio HornblowerHoratio HornblowerHoratio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs.The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy...
duels Jack Simpson - In RidiculeRidiculeRidicule is a 1996 French film set in the 18th century at the decadent court of Versailles, where social status can rise and fall based on one's ability to mete out witty insults and avoid ridicule oneself...
, a French film directed by Patrice LecontePatrice LecontePatrice Leconte is a French film director, actor, comic strip writer, and screenwriter.-Biography:...
, protagonist Gregoire Ponceludon kills one of King Louis XVI'sLouis XVI of FranceLouis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
officers in a pistol duel. - The HighlanderHighlander (film)Highlander is a 1986 fantasy action film directed by Russell Mulcahy and based on a story by Gregory Widen. It stars Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, and Roxanne Hart. The film depicts the climax of an ages-old battle between immortal warriors, depicted through interwoven past and...
series features numerous duels between immortal warriors destined to fight. In the first film, a humorous duel occurs where a very drunk immortal fences with a sober man, is repeatedly run through but keeps getting back up to fight. - In TombstoneTombstone (film)Tombstone is a 1993 American action film set in the Old West directed by George P. Cosmatos, along with uncredited directorial efforts by actor Kurt Russell and writer Kevin Jarre. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Jarre....
, Doc HollidayDoc HollidayJohn Henry "Doc" Holliday was an American gambler, gunfighter and dentist of the American Old West, who is usually remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral...
stands in for his friend Wyatt EarpWyatt EarpWyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
in a duel with Johnny RingoJohnny RingoJohn Peters "Johnny" Ringo was an outlaw Cowboy of the American Old West who was affiliated with Ike Clanton and Frank Stilwell in Cochise County, Arizona Territory during 1881-1882.-Early life:...
. This is based on one of several explanations for the unusual circumstances surrounding Ringo's death. - In The Count of Monte CristoThe Count of Monte CristoThe Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas's most popular work. He completed the work in 1844...
, The Count of Monte Cristo (Edmond DantèsEdmond DantèsEdmond Dantès is the protagonist and title character of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel, The Count of Monte Cristo.Dumas may have gotten the idea for the character of Edmond from a story which he found in a book compiled by Jacques Peuchet, archivist to the French police. Peuchet related the tale of...
) plans a duel with Viscount Albert Mondego, de Morcerf. However, no duel is ever fought, and Mondego apologizes. Monte Cristo also almost duels Mondego's father, the Count Fernand Mondego de Morcerf, but he learns Monte Cristo's true identity and bows out. There was also a recollection of Noitier de Villefort of him engaging with a duel and killing his opponent. He told the account to Franz d'Épinay, the son of the one Noitier killed. He did this in order to break up the plans of marriage to his granddaughter, Valentine. - LibertineLibertineA libertine is one devoid of most moral restraints, which are seen as unnecessary or undesirable, especially one who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behavior sanctified by the larger society. Libertines, also known as rakes, placed value on physical pleasures, meaning those...
, a Baroque-style music video by Mylène FarmerMylène FarmerMylène Farmer, , born Marie-Hélène Jeanne Gautier, , , is a French singer, songwriter, occasional actress and author....
starts with a duel between the singer and a man, ending in the man's death. - The Skulls, a 2000 movie, culminates in a duel between the two main characters, though neither fires on the other and the fight is eventually interrupted by the father of one of the participants.
- Tender Is the NightTender is the NightTender Is the Night is a novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was his fourth and final completed novel, and was first published in Scribner's Magazine between January-April, 1934 in four issues...
by F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
; McKisco vs Barban. - Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, "The Christmas InvasionThe Christmas Invasion"The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is Christmas, but there is little cause for celebration as planet Earth is invaded by aliens known as the Sycorax...
": The DoctorDoctor (Doctor Who)The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
duels with the Sycorax Leader in a fight for Planet Earth - Barry LyndonBarry LyndonBarry Lyndon is a 1975 British-American period romantic war film produced, written, and directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the 1844 novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray which recounts the exploits of an 18th century Irish adventurer...
, the 1975 movie by Stanley KubrickStanley KubrickStanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
includes many duels. It begins with a duel in which Barry's father is mortally shot by an unknown man. Years later Barry duels Captain Quin for Nora. The movie culminates in a duel with Barry's stepson, Lord Bullingdon. This last duel is not in the original novel The Luck of Barry LyndonThe Luck of Barry LyndonThe Luck of Barry Lyndon is a picaresque novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in serial form in 1844, about a member of the Irish gentry trying to become a member of the English aristocracy...
by William Makepeace ThackerayWilliam Makepeace ThackerayWilliam Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
. - In the novel Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsHarry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, during which a series of messages on the walls on the school's corridors warn that the "Chamber of...
by J.K. Rowling, a number of the students at HogwartsHogwartsHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or simply Hogwarts is the primary setting for the first six books of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, with each book lasting the equivalent of one school year. It is a fictional boarding school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of...
attend a duelling lesson conducted by teachers Gilderoy Lockhart and Severus SnapeSeverus SnapeSeverus Snape is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J.K. Rowling. In the first novel of the series, he is hostile toward Harry and is built up to be the primary antagonist until the final chapters. As the series progresses, Snape's character becomes more layered and...
. It was during a supervised practice duel with Draco MalfoyDraco MalfoyDraco Malfoy is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. He is a Slytherin student in Harry Potter's year. He is frequently accompanied by his two accomplices, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, who act as henchmen...
, Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
's nature as a parselmouth was exposed. - Dark ShadowsDark ShadowsDark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
: in the 1795 storyline, Barnabas CollinsBarnabas CollinsBarnabas Collins is a fictional character, one of the feature characters in the ABC daytime serial Dark Shadows, which aired from 1966 to 1971. Originally played by Canadian actor Jonathan Frid, Barnabas Collins is a 200-year-old vampire who is in search of fresh blood and his lost love, Josette...
had fought a duel against Jeremiah CollinsJeremiah CollinsJeremiah Collins was played primarily by Anthony George during the 1795 flashback on the ABC-TV cult television gothic horror soap opera serial Dark Shadows.-Story:...
in a duel after he learned he married his love Josette du PresJosette du PresJosette du Pres was a character played primarily by Kathryn Leigh Scott during the 1795 flashback on the cult TV serial Dark Shadows.-Josette and Barnabas:...
thanks to Angelique's spell, and the duel caused Jeremiah's death. - In The Devils by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolay Stavrogin duels Gaganov over a family insult. During the duel, Stavrogin intentionally fires into the air, which infuriates Gaganov.
- In HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, Prince Hamlet fights a duel with Laertes. The weapons are not supposed to be fatal, but Laertes' sword is sharp, and the tip is poisoned. Both men are killed. - In Flashman by George MacDonald FraserGeorge MacDonald FraserGeorge MacDonald Fraser, OBE was an English-born author of Scottish descent, who wrote both historical novels and non-fiction books, as well as several screenplays.-Early life and military career:...
, Flashman is forced into fighting a duel after a brief affair with a fellow officer's lover. Flashman gains a free shot after promising a large sum of money to the pistol loader to give his opponent blanks in his gun, but rather than attempt to kill his opponent, instead delopeDelopeDelope is the practice of throwing away one's first fire in a duel, in an attempt to abort the conflict. According to most traditions the deloper must first allow his opponent the opportunity to fire after the command is issued by the secondary, without hinting at his intentions...
s and accidentally shoots the top off a bottle thirty yards away, an action that gives him instant fame and the respect of Duke of Wellington. In his next novel Royal FlashRoyal FlashRoyal Flash is a 1970 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the second of the Flashman novels. It was made into the film Royal Flash in 1975.-Plot summary:...
Flashman is kidnapped by Otto Von Bismark and is forced to acquire a pair of dueling scarsDueling scarsDuelling scars have been seen as a “badge of honour” since as early as 1825. Known variously as "Mensur scars", "the bragging scar", "smite", "Schmitte" or "renommierschmiss", duelling scars were popular amongst upper-class Austrians and Germans involved in academic fencing at the start of the 20th...
administered by the duelmaster De Gautet. In disgust at having his face sliced like paper Flashman lunges De Gautet and cuts his abdomen. - In the Simpsons episode "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)"E-I-E-I-" is the fifth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 1999. In the episode, inspired by a Zorro movie, Homer begins slapping people with a glove and challenging them to duels...
", Homer, imitating Zorro, inadvertently challenges a gun-toting Southern colonel to a duel. Initially avoiding the duel by running to the country (and inventing 'Tomacco'), the eventual duel results in Homer being shot in the arm (subsequently refusing hospitalisation for pie). - In the Blackadder the ThirdBlackadder the ThirdBlackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987....
episode "Duel and Duality", the Prince Regent (Hugh LaurieHugh LaurieJames Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
) is challenged to a duel by the Duke of Wellington (Stephen FryStephen FryStephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
). BlackadderBlackadderBlackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
(Rowan AtkinsonRowan AtkinsonRowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
) assumes his place but is saved in the eventual duel (using cannon) by a cigarette case. The Prince, in Blackadder's clothing, is shot dead by the Duke for insolence with Blackadder assuming the role of Prince (and later King). - In Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
's The Magic MountainThe Magic MountainThe Magic Mountain is a novel by Thomas Mann, first published in November 1924. It is widely considered to be one of the most influential works of 20th century German literature....
, the long-standing personal and philosophical differences between Naptha and Settembrini eventually result in a pistol duel; when Settembrini delopeDelopeDelope is the practice of throwing away one's first fire in a duel, in an attempt to abort the conflict. According to most traditions the deloper must first allow his opponent the opportunity to fire after the command is issued by the secondary, without hinting at his intentions...
s by shooting into the air, Naphta calls him a coward and shoots himself. - In the Metal Gear SolidMetal Gear Solidis a videogame by Hideo Kojima. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami in 1998 for the PlayStation video game console. It is the sequel to Kojimas early MSX2 computer games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake...
series there have been a number of duels, most of them between the hero and boss characters. Three memorable ones are; The duel between Solid Snake and Grey Fox, barehanded over a minefield. The duel between Liquid Snake and Solid Snake, barehanded fighting on Metal Gear REX; and the final duel between Old Snake and Liquid Ocelot, on top of Outer Haven. - Howard WaldropHoward WaldropHoward Waldrop is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction.Waldrop's stories combine elements such as alternate history, American popular culture, the American South, old movies , classical mythology, and rock 'n' roll music. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical...
's Fin de Cyclé culminates in a duel between Alfred JarryAlfred JarryAlfred Jarry was a French writer born in Laval, Mayenne, France, not far from the border of Brittany; he was of Breton descent on his mother's side....
and an antagonistic journalist, riding bicycles atop the Eiffel TowerEiffel TowerThe Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
. - In the videogame Red Dead Redemption, John Marston participates in several duels, in and out of the story.
- In the movie Die Another DayDie Another DayDie Another Day is the 20th spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond; it is also the last Bond film of the original timeline with the series being rebooted with Casino Royale...
, James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
and Gustav Graves duel with a variety of swordsSwordsA sword is a cutting/thrusting weapon made of metal. Sword or swords may also refer to:* Swords, County Dublin, Ireland* Suit of swords, a suit in Latin-suited playing cards and Tarot decks* SWORDS, a ground-based military robot...
, which ends with Bond slashing Graves across the chest with a longswordLongswordThe longsword is a type of European sword designed for two-handed use, current during the late medieval and Renaissance periods, approximately 1350 to 1550 .Longswords have long cruciform hilts with grips over 10 to 15 cm length The longsword (of which stems the variation called the bastard...
.
External links
Banks, Stephen, Dead before Breakfast: The English Gentleman and Honour Affronted", in S. Bibb and D. Escandell (eds), Best Served Cold: Studies on Revenge (Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2010), http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/publishing/id-press/ebooks/best-served-cold
Banks, Stephen, "Challengers Chastised and Duellists Deterred: Kings Bench and Criminal Informations, 1800-1820" (2007) ANZLH E-Journal, Refereed Paper No (4). http://www.anzlhsejournal.auckland.ac.nz/Refereed_Papers_2007.htm
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