Thomas Billington (1872 – 10 January 1902) was an English

executioner An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who executes a sentence of capital punishment on a legally condemned person. Scope and job The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorising or order ...

from 1897 to 1901 and was one of four

family members Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

who worked in the occupation.

Biography

Billington was born in

Bolton, Lancashire Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th centu ...

."The Billington Hangmen"
. ''billingtonfamiliesoflancs.com''. Retrieved 2010-11-12. He worked primarily as a

barman A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

, but his father, James Billington, was an executioner and gained his son a job as an assistant executioner in 1897. Thomas was on the Home Office list from 1897 to 1901. He usually worked as an assistant to his father or to his younger brother,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. His youngest brother,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, also became an executioner. Billington assisted his father in seven hangings in 1898. However, in the summer of 1899, he disappeared. His wife had died around that time, and his father later wrote that he had joined the army. After 18 months, he returned home and assisted his father in an execution at Cork on 11 January 1901. He was an assistant to either his father or to his brother in seven hangings that year. He assisted his brother full-time after his father became ill. However, Thomas himself soon started suffering from colds. He assisted in his last execution on 24 December 1901. In December 1901, James Billington died. Thomas died about a month later, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. He was 29 years old.Fielding, p. 46.

Biography

See also

References

Further reading