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Pacific Historian
Jack the Ripper has been voted the worst Brit of the last 1000 years. However, no-one knows who he was so he may not even have been British at all.
By PETE BELL
Sun Online
JACK the Ripper remains notorious almost 120 years after his reign of terror - and he's just been voted the worst Briton of the last 1000 years.
The Victorian serial killer, who mutilated the corpses of his female victims, received 24 per cent of the public vote in a poll for BBC History Magazine - more than twice that of his nearest rival.
The serial killer, who was never caught, murdered at least four prostitutes in Whitechapel, east London, in 1888. His real identity was never established.
Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket, who clashed with King Henry II over the rights of the Church and was assassinated in around 1170, came second with 11 per cent.
Others making the top 10 included Eadric Streona, King Aethelred II's chief counsellor, who betrayed his country by switching sides when the Danish king Cnut invaded England in 1015, and Robin Hood's nemesis King John.
British fascist leader Oswald Mosley, a Conservative MP in the 1930s before becoming disillusioned and founding the notorious Blackshirts, was 10th.
Nearly 5,000 people voted for their least favourite figure from a shortlist representing each century over the past millennium.
Dave Musgrove, editor of BBC History Magazine, said: "The public's choice of Jack the Ripper over the likes of Oswald Mosley as the worst Briton reflects the fact that the Victorian murderer remains an iconic figure today, and perhaps is seen by many as the forerunner of the serial killers that society has had to deal with since the Ripper's time."
The full top 10 was:
1. Jack the Ripper (19th century).
2. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (c.1120-70).
3. Eadric Streona (died 1017).
4. King John (1167-1216) captured and apparently murdered his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, who was his rival for the throne after the death of Richard the Lionheart in 1199.
5. Sir Richard Rich, Lord Rich of Leighs (1496/7-1567), throughout his life shifted his political and religious allegiances to further his career. During Henry VIII's reign he gave evidence against both Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher which helped to convict them of treason, for which they were executed.
6. Titus Oates (1649-1705) in 1678 made up a story about a Catholic plot to murder King Charles II which led to scores of people being rounded up and several innocent men being executed. He was later convicted of perjury and jailed.
7. Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-65), a younger son of King George II, was given the nickname "Butcher" for the merciless manner in which he defeated the Young Pretender, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 to quell the Jacobite Rising of 1745-6.
8. Thomas Arundel (1353-1414), Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death, persecuted the Lollards, a group calling for reform of the Catholic Church by promoting a lay priesthood and translations of the Bible.
9. Hugh Despenser (The Younger) (died 1326) became one of the richest men in the kingdom by ruthlessly eliminating his enemies and greedily seizing land in South Wales. He was executed as a traitor.
10. Oswald Mosley (1896-1980) - leader of the British Union of Fascists during World War II.
thesun.co.uk
By PETE BELL
Sun Online
JACK the Ripper remains notorious almost 120 years after his reign of terror - and he's just been voted the worst Briton of the last 1000 years.
The Victorian serial killer, who mutilated the corpses of his female victims, received 24 per cent of the public vote in a poll for BBC History Magazine - more than twice that of his nearest rival.
The serial killer, who was never caught, murdered at least four prostitutes in Whitechapel, east London, in 1888. His real identity was never established.
Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket, who clashed with King Henry II over the rights of the Church and was assassinated in around 1170, came second with 11 per cent.
Others making the top 10 included Eadric Streona, King Aethelred II's chief counsellor, who betrayed his country by switching sides when the Danish king Cnut invaded England in 1015, and Robin Hood's nemesis King John.
British fascist leader Oswald Mosley, a Conservative MP in the 1930s before becoming disillusioned and founding the notorious Blackshirts, was 10th.
Nearly 5,000 people voted for their least favourite figure from a shortlist representing each century over the past millennium.
Dave Musgrove, editor of BBC History Magazine, said: "The public's choice of Jack the Ripper over the likes of Oswald Mosley as the worst Briton reflects the fact that the Victorian murderer remains an iconic figure today, and perhaps is seen by many as the forerunner of the serial killers that society has had to deal with since the Ripper's time."
The full top 10 was:
1. Jack the Ripper (19th century).
2. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (c.1120-70).
3. Eadric Streona (died 1017).
4. King John (1167-1216) captured and apparently murdered his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, who was his rival for the throne after the death of Richard the Lionheart in 1199.
5. Sir Richard Rich, Lord Rich of Leighs (1496/7-1567), throughout his life shifted his political and religious allegiances to further his career. During Henry VIII's reign he gave evidence against both Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher which helped to convict them of treason, for which they were executed.
6. Titus Oates (1649-1705) in 1678 made up a story about a Catholic plot to murder King Charles II which led to scores of people being rounded up and several innocent men being executed. He was later convicted of perjury and jailed.
7. Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-65), a younger son of King George II, was given the nickname "Butcher" for the merciless manner in which he defeated the Young Pretender, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 to quell the Jacobite Rising of 1745-6.
8. Thomas Arundel (1353-1414), Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death, persecuted the Lollards, a group calling for reform of the Catholic Church by promoting a lay priesthood and translations of the Bible.
9. Hugh Despenser (The Younger) (died 1326) became one of the richest men in the kingdom by ruthlessly eliminating his enemies and greedily seizing land in South Wales. He was executed as a traitor.
10. Oswald Mosley (1896-1980) - leader of the British Union of Fascists during World War II.
thesun.co.uk
