The following are some famous duels.
Historical duels
British and Irish duels
- 1609: Sir George Wharton and Sir James Stuart; fought a duel over a game of cards in Islington; both were killed
- 1609: Sir Hatton Cheek and Sir Thomas Dutton; fought in Calais; both killed.
- 1613: Edward Bruce, 2nd Lord of Kinloss and Sir Edward Sackville (later 4th Earl of Dorset); fought a duel over a woman named Venetia Stanley. They fought in Bergen-op-Zoom, Netherlands to avoid the wrath of the King; Lord Bruce was killed, but Venetia Stanley ended up marrying another man named Sir Kenelm Digby.
- 1613: The Grey Brydges, 5th Baron Chandos and James Hay (later 1st Earl of Carlisle)
- 1652: The George Brydges, 6th Baron Chandos and Colonel Henry Compton (grandson of Henry Compton, 1st Baron Compton); Compton was killed, Chandos was found guilty of manslaughter and died whilst imprisoned.
- 1667: George Villiers (later 2nd Duke of Buckingham) and Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury; Shrewsbury was killed, and George Villiers' second Sir J. Jenkins was killed by the Earl's second.
- 1694: John Law and Edward Wilson; Wilson challenged Law over the affections of Elizabeth Villiers (later Countess of Orkney); Wilson was killed. Law was tried and found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. His sentenced was commuted to a fine, upon the ground that the offence only amounted to manslaughter. Wilson's brother appealed and had Law imprisoned but he managed to escape to the continent.
- 1711: Richard Thornhill, Esq and Sir Cholmondeley Deering; Sir Cholmondeley was killed and Richard Thornhill convicted of manslaughter [1] (http://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ng123.htm).
- 1712: Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun and the James Douglas, 4th Duke of Hamilton; both were killed. Their seconds George Macartney, Esq and Colonel John Hamilton were found guilty of manslaughter.
- 1731: The William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath and John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey of Ickworth
- 1749: Captain Clarke R.N. and Captain Innis R.N; Innis was killed. Clarke was sentenced to death but received a Royal Pardon [2] (http://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ng232.htm).
- 1765: The William Byron, 5th Baron Byron and William Chaworth; Chaworth was killed. Bryon was tried in the House of Lords and acquitted of murder, but found guilty of manslaughter, for which he was fined.
- 1775: George Macartney and Major-General James Stuart; Earl Macartney was wounded.
- 1779: Charles James Fox and Mr Adams
- 1789: Frederick, Duke of York and Lieutenant-Colonel Lennox
- 1792: Lady Almeria Braddock and Mrs Elphinstone; so called "petticoat duel"; Lady Almeria Braddock felt insulted by Mrs Elphinstone and challenged her to a duel in London's Hyde Park after their genteel converstation turned to the subject of Lady Almeria's true age. The ladies first exchanged pistol shots in which Lady Almeria's hat was damaged. They then continued with swords until Mrs. Elphinstone received a wound to her arm and agreed to write Lady Almeria an apology.
- 1796: William Pitt the Younger and George Tierney
- 1799: Colonel Ashton and Major Allen; Duel took place in India; Ashton was killed.
- 1807: Sir Francis Burdett and James Pauli; both men were wounded.
- 1808: Major Campbell and Captain Boyd; Major Campbell was tried and executed for killing Captain Boyd.
- 1809: George Canning and Lord Castlereagh; Canning was slightly wounded.
- 1815: Daniel O'Connell and Norcot d'Esterre; d'Esterre was killed.
- 1821: John Scott and J.H. Christie; John Scott, founder and editor of the London Magazine, was killed.
- 1824: The 3rd Marquess of Londonderry and Ensign Battier; Battier was a cornet in the Marquess's regiment. When Battier's pistol misfired, he declined the offer of another shot and left. He was later horsewhipped by the marquesses second Sir Henry Hardinge.
- 1829: Duke of Wellington and the 10th Earl of Winchilsea; both aimed wide.
- 1835: Mr Roebuck and Mr Black, editor of the Morning Chronicle
- 1835: William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley and Morgan O'Connell; Morgan O'Connell; was the son of Daniel O'Connell. Alvanley asserted that Morgan's father had been "purchased" by William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne on his accession to the office of Prime Minister, O'Connell retorted by calling Alvanley "a bloated buffoon".
- 1839: Marquess of Londonderry and Henry Gratton
- 1840: The James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan and Captain Harvey Garnett Phipps Tuckett; Captain Tuckett was wounded. Cardigan was arrested, tried in the House of Lords and was acquitted [3] (http://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ng631.htm).
- 1840: Prince Louis Napoleon and Charles, Count Léon; Police arrived to prevent the duel; both men were arrested and taken to Bow Street Prison.
- 1840: Joseph Howe is called out by a member of Nova Scotian high society for his populist writing, although his opponent fires first and misses, Howe fires his shot in the air and wins the right to refuse future challenges.
- 1843: Colonel Fawcett and Lieutenant Monro; Colonel Fawcett was killed.
French duels
- 1064: The famous French Swordsmen, Sir Charles Edward Mordaunt, and an inconvenient, worthless peasant fought over a piece of bread. When the argument became heated, Sir Charles gallantly drew his sword and smote the peasant upon the head, thereby immediately bringing on the peasant's death. As he cleaned the dirty blood off of his mighty sword, Sir Charles munched his bread and put to thought what would happen if he put two slices of bread around a slab of meat. He then continued on to invent the sandwich hundreds of years before the Earl of Sandwich even thought about it.
- 1641: Kenelm Digby and a French nobleman named Mont le Ros. Digby, a founding member of the Royal Society was attending a banquet in France when the Frenchman insulted King Charles I of England and Digby challenged the man to a duel. Digby worte that he ".. run his rapier into the French Lord's breast till it came out of his throat again"; Mont le Ros fell dead.
- 1832: Evariste Galois and Perscheux d'Herbinville; Evariste Galois, the French mathematician, died of his wounds at the age of twenty.
- 1888: General George Boulanger and Charles Floquet (Prime Minister of the French Replublic); The General was wounded in the throat but survived.
American duels
Russian Duels
Canadian Duels
- 1800: John White, 39, Upper Canada's first lawyer and a founder of the law society, was fatally shot on January 3, 1800 by a government official named John Small, who challenged him to the duel. White was alleged to have gossiped at a Christmas party that Mrs. Small was once the mistress of the Duke of Berkeley in England, who'd tired of her and paid Small to marry her and take her to the colonies.
- 1817: John Ridout, 18, was shot dead on July 12, 1817 at the corner of what is now Bay St. and Grosvenor St. in Toronto by Samuel Peters Jarvis, 25. The reason for the duel was unclear. On the count of two, the nervous Ridout discharged his pistol early, missing Jarvis by a wide margin. Ridout's second, James Small (whose father survived the only other duel in York) and Jarvis' second, Henry John Boulton insisted that Jarvis be allowed to make his shot. Ridout protested loudly and asked for another pistol, but Small and Boulton were adamant that the strict code of dueling must be observed. Jarvis shot and killed Ridout instantly. He was pardoned by the courts, even though Jarvis had shot an unarmed man. Jarvis, who later laid out the broad thoroughfare called Jarvis St. through his estate, maintained that the duel had been gallant and honourable. Jarvis St. is now a well-known hangout for prostitutes.
- 1819: What historians have called "The Most Ferocious Duel" in Canadian history took place on April 11, 1819, at Windmill Point near the Lachine Canal. The opponents were William Caldwell, a doctor at the Montreal General Hospital, and Michael O'Sullivan, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. The dispute arose when Caldwell accused O'Sullivan of lacking courage. The resulting duel was ferocious: The two opponents exchanged fire an unheard-of five times. O'Sullivan was wounded twice in the process, and in the final volley, he took a bullet to the chest and hit the ground. Caldwell's arm was shattered by a shot; a hole in his collar proved he narrowly missed being shot in the neck. Amazingly, neither participant died during the fight, although both took a long time to recover. O'Sullivan went on to become Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench in Montreal, and when he died in 1839, an autopsy revealed a bullet still lodged against the middle of his spine.
- 1833: The last fatal duel in Upper Canada (now known as Ontario) was fought in Perth on June 13, 1833. Two law students and former friends, John Wilson and Robert Lyon, quarreled over remarks Lyon made about a local schoolteacher, Elizabeth Hughes. Lyon was killed in the second exchange of shots on a rain-soaked field. Wilson was acquitted of murder, eventually married Miss Hughes, became a Member of Parliament, and later a judge.
- 1836: Two dueling politicians from Lower Canada were lucky to have sensible seconds. Clément-Charles Sabrevois de Bleury, a member of the Lower Canadian Legislative Assembly, insulted fellow politician Charles-Ovide Perreault. Perreault then struck de Bleury, and a duel was set. Both men were determined to settle the matter with pistols, but their seconds came up with a unique solution. The two foes would clasp hands and de Bleury would say, "I am sorry to have insulted you" while at the same time Perreault would say, "I am sorry to have struck you." They would then reply in unison, "I accept your apology." The tactic worked, and the situation was resolved without injury.
- 1873: The last duel in Canada occurred in August 1873, in a field near St. John's, Newfoundland. The duelists, Mr. Dooley and Mr. Healey, once friends, had fallen in love with the same young lady, and had quarreled bitterly over her. One challenged the other to a duel, and they quickly arranged a time and place. No one else was present that morning except the two men's seconds. Dooley and Healey were determined to proceed in the 'honourable' way, but as they stood back-to-back with their pistols raised, they must have questioned what they were doing. Nerves gave way to terror as they slowly began pacing away from each other. When they had counted off the standard ten yards, they turned and fired. Dooley hit the ground immediately. Healey, believing he had killed Dooley, was seized with horror. But Dooley had merely fainted; the seconds confessed they had so feared the outcome that they loaded the pistols with blanks. Although this was a serious breach of dueling etiquette, both opponents gratefully agreed that honour had indeed been satisfied.
Duels in fiction
- Westley (Dread Pirate Roberts) versus Inigo Montoya, Inigo loses but survives
- Inigo Montoya versus Count Rugen, Inigo avenges his father's death.
- The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas; D'Artagnan commits himself to fight three consecutive duels with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis
- Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos; Valmont versus Darcency, Valmont allows himself to be killed
- The Duel (also known as The Point of Honor: A Military Tale) by Joseph Conrad; Two officers of Napoleon Bonaparte's army fight a number of duels over many years. The story was transferred to the screen by Ridley Scott as The Duellists.
- The Duel a philosophic novella by Anton Chekhov
- War and Peace; Pierre and Dolokhov duel. Leo Tolstoy himself barely escaped duels with fellow writers Ivan Turgenev and Nikolay Nekrasov.
- Anna Karenina: Vronsky vs. Karenin.
- Fathers and Sons; Kirsanov and Bazarov duel is a culminating point of the novel; Turgenev also wrote a short story called Duellist.
- Vladimir Nabokov's Ada, or Ardour.
- HMS Surprise by Patrick O'Brian; Stephen Maturin fights and kills Richard Canning over Diana Villers. Based on the Ashton–Allen duel?
- Mr. Midshipman Hornblower in the Horatio Hornblower series by C. S. Forester; Horatio Hornblower duels Jack Simpson
- In Ridicule, a French film directed by Patrice Leconte, protagonist Gregoire Ponceludon kills one of King Louis XVI's officers in a pistol duel.
- In Tombstone (movie), Doc Holliday stands in for his friend Wyatt Earp in a duel with Johnny Ringo. This is based on one of several explanations for the unusual circumstances surrounding Ringo's death.
- In The Count Of Monte Cristo, The Count of Monte Cristo (Edmond Dantés) fights a duel with Viscount Albert Mondego, de Morcerf. No duel is ever fought, Mondego appologizes.
- The Skulls, a 2000 movie, culminates in a duel between the two main characters, though neither fires on the other and the fight is eventually interrupted by the father of one of the participants.
- Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald; McKisco vs Barban.
Duels in film and television
References
See also
External links
