The Tudor Society

November 13 – Murder by pistol

On this day in Tudor history, 13th November 1536, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Robert Packington (Pakington, Pakyngton) was shot to death by an unknown assailant while he was on his way to mass at St Thomas of Acre Chapel. He was shot with a wheellock pistol.

Robert Packington, who was a mercer and member of Parliament, has gone down in history as the first person in England to be killed by a handgun.

But who was the murderer and why was he killed?

Find out about Packington, his murder, and the theories regarding who ordered his murder...

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November 13 – Murder by pistol