The Assassination of the Prime Minister: John Bellingham and the Murder of Spencer Perceval

Only once in history has a British Prime Minister been assassinated. At 5.00 p.m. on Monday, 11 May 1812, John Bellingham made his way to the Houses of Parliament carrying concealed weapons. At 5.15 p.m., as the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon. Spencer Perceval, was making his way across the lobby leading to the House of Commons, Bellingham shot him dead at point-blank range. Bellingham was immediately arrested and put on trial two days later: refusing to plead insanity, he was convicted and han...