John Price (c. 1677 – 31 May 1718) was an English hangman who was himself hanged for murder. He was born in London and apprenticed at an early age to a dealer in "scraps and rags" until the death of his master two years later. Little else is known of Price's early life except that he went to sea and served on Royal Navy

men-of-war The man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man) was a Royal Navy expression for a powerful warship or frigate from the 16th to the 19th century. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually reserved for a ship armed wi ...

. Price appears to have lived constantly on the edge of the law; on one occasion in 1715, after executing three men at

Tyburn Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern Ox ...

, he was arrested for debt. His earnings, tips, and sales that day helped him to avoid prison, but eventually his financial problems led to his imprisonment in

Marshalsea The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners, including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition, it became known, in ...

, in Southwark, London. After a few months of incarceration, Price and an accomplice managed to escape by digging a hole in the prison wall. Shortly afterwards in 1718 he killed a man, and then savagely attacked and beat a woman named Elizabeth White in

Bunhill Fields Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London Cor ...

; she died of her injuries four days later. Price was apprehended and found guilty of her murder. He was held in

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

for five weeks before his execution on 31 May 1718. The ''Weekly Journal'' reported an account by the hangman that a few days before Price's execution he had raped a young girl who had taken food to his cell.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Price, John English executioners 1718 deaths Year of birth uncertain