William Rutherford Benn

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William Rutherford Benn
Born1855
Poplar, London
Died1921
Dartford, Kent
NationalityBritish
OccupationJournalist, poet, translator
Known forMurder of his father
ChildrenMargaret Rutherford
Parent(s)Julius and Ann Benn

William Rutherford Benn, later William Rutherford, (1855-1921) was an English journalist, poet, and translator, and a member of the political Benn family. In 1883 he murdered his father, the Reverend , and was detained at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum before being released and making a new life in India.

Early life and family[]

William Rutherford Benn was born in Poplar, London, in 1855,[1] one of eight children of the Congregational Church minister, the Reverend Julius Benn, and his wife Ann.[2][3] He married Florence Nicholson on 16 December 1882 at All Saints Church, Wandsworth, south London, and in 1892 William and Florence had a daughter, the actress Margaret Rutherford.[3]

Patricide[]

In 1883, Benn had been on his honeymoon with his wife Florence, in Paris when he suffered a break down[4] which it has been speculated may have been caused or exacerbated by his failure to consummate his marriage to Florence.[3] They had been married 11 weeks when Florence brought him back home, so that his parents could care for him.[4] However, he got worse and was admitted to Bethnal House Asylum.[4] He was collected by his father, Julius Benn, six weeks later, when it appeared that he had recovered.[4] His father subsequently took him to Matlock Bridge, Derbyshire, to rest.[4] There, on 4 March 1883, he murdered his father using an earthenware chamber pot to hit his father over the head, and attempted to cut his own throat. While in Derby infirmary receiving treatment for his injuries he threw himself out of a window and fell 20 feet injuring himself.[3]

He was detained at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum.[4] He was visited by his brother, John Williams Benn, who became involved in entertaining the other patients.[5] Benn was released from Broadmoor in July 1890 and subsequently changed his name by deed poll to William Rutherford, using his middle name as his surname.[3]

Career[]

In the 1881 census, when he would have been in his mid-20s, Benn was described as a "merchant's clerk". He had a facility with languages and was described by his daughter's biographer as an "accomplished poet" and by David Benn as "in some way, the most civilised and educated of all the Benns".[3] He worked as a journalist, and in the 1891 census was described as a "translator of languages".[3] In her autobiography, his daughter Margaret described him as a "traveller in silks in India".[3]

Death[]

Benn died in Dartford, Kent, in 1921.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ William Rutherford Benn Birth • England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008. Family Search. Retrieved 4 August 2021. (subscription required)
  2. ^ Wm R Benn Census • England and Wales Census, 1881. Family Search. Retrieved 4 August 2021. (subscription required)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriman, Andy. (2010). "Murder at Matlock". Margaret Rutherford: Dreadnought with Good Manners. London: Aurum. pp. 6–10. ISBN 978-1-84513-758-8.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Wyburn-Powell, Alun. (2015). Political Wings: William Wedgewood Benn, First Viscount Stansgate. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Aviation. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-4738-4815-3.
  5. ^ Stevens, Mark. (2013). Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Social History. ISBN 978-1-78346-236-0.
  6. ^ William R Benn Death • England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007. Family Search. Retrieved 4 August 2021. (subscription required)

External links[]

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