List of famous duels

Table of contents

1 Historical duels 1.1 British and Irish duels 1.2 French duels 1.3 American duels 1.4 Russian Duels 2 Duels in fiction

Historical duels

British and Irish duels

• 1609: Sir George Wharton and Sir James Stuart; fought in Bergen-op-Zoom, Netherlands; both were killed
• 1609: Sir Hatton Cheek and Sir Thomas Dutton; fought in Calais; both killed.
• 1613: Lord Bruce and Sir Edward Sackville (later Earl of Dorset); Lord Bruce was killed
• 1613: The 5th Lord Chandos and Lord Hay (later Earl of Carlisle)
• 1652: The 6th Lord Chandos and Colonel Henry Compton; Compton was killed, Chandos was found guilty of manslaughter and died whilst imprisoned.
• 1667: George Villiers (later 2nd Duke of Buckingham) and Earl of Shrewsbury; Shrewsbury was killed, and George Villiers' second Sir J. Jenkins was killed by the Earl's second.
• 1711: Richard Thornhill, Esq and Sir Cholmondeley Deering; Sir Cholmondeley was killed and Richard Thornhill convicted of manslaughter [1].
• 1712: Lord Mohun and the 4th Duke of Hamilton; both were killed. Their seconds George Macartney, Esq and Colonel John Hamilton were found guilty of manslaughter.
• 1731: The Earl of Bath and Lord Hervey
• 1749: Captain Clarke R.N. and Captain Innis R.N; Innis was killed. Clarke was sentenced to death but received a Royal Pardon [1].
• 1765: The 5th Lord 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: Earl 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" at Hyde Park; Mrs Elphinstone was wounded.
• 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: Lord Alvanley and Morgan O'Connell; Morgan O'Connell; was the son of Daniel O'Connell
• 1839: Marquess of Londonderry and Henry Gratton
• 1840: The 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 [1].
• 1840: Prince Louis Napoleon and Charles, Count Léon; Police arrived to prevent the duel; both men were arrested and taken to Bow Street Prison.
• 1843: Colonel Fawcett and Lieutenant Monro; Colonel Fawcett was killed.

• 1832: Evariste Galois and Perscheux d'Herbinville; Evariste Galois, the French mathematician, died of his wounds at the age of twenty.

• 1804: Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton; Hamilton was killed.
• 1806: Andrew Jackson and Charles Dickinson; Dickinson was killed, Jackson wounded.
• 1820: Stephen Decatur and James Barron; Decatur was killed.

• 1837: Aleksandr Pushkin mortally wounded in a duel with his wife's lover

• The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas; D'Artagnan commits himself to fight three consecutive duels with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis
• 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.