Marriage Could Be Dangerous
History books have poured a lot of time into documenting wars, elections, inventions, and famous careers, but there’s one darker part that always slipped into the background: men who were violent towards their wives. These marriages included every nightmare you could imagine, and, in some of the worst cases, justice wasn’t even served. These 20 historical names are a lot harder to admire once you hear the full story.
SCRCI, a state correctional facility in Anchorage, Alaska [1] on Wikimedia
1. Henry II of England
Eleanor of Aquitaine supported their sons' rebellion against him in 1173, and when Henry II caught wind of it, he captured her and kept her confined for almost 16 years. He even made an example of her by moving her among royal residences while restricting her freedom. Eleanor remained a prisoner until he died in 1189; their son Richard I immediately ordered her release.
2. Henry VIII
Henry VIII's treatment of Anne Boleyn reached its horrifying conclusion in 1536, when she was arrested on charges of adultery, incest, and treason—all claims that most modern historians consider either totally unfounded or fabricated. She was convicted in a court controlled by the Tudor government and beheaded at the Tower of London.
Workshop of Hans Holbein the Younger on Wikimedia
3. George I of Great Britain
In 1694, the future George I divorced Sophia Dorothea of Celle after her relationship with Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck created a scandal. But it wasn’t enough to live with the embarrassment; he had his former wife confined at Ahlden House, where she couldn’t remarry, was prevented from seeing her children, stripped of her title, and remained imprisoned until her death in 1726. George never saw a courthouse and instead became king of Great Britain in 1714.
Workshop of Godfrey Kneller on Wikimedia
4. Peter the Great
Peter I decided he no longer wanted his first wife, Eudoxia Lopukhina. She wasn’t on the same page, however, refusing divorce before he forcibly sent her to the Pokrovsky Convent in 1698. She was eventually compelled to become a nun, while their surviving son was taken away from her, and Eudoxia didn't regain full control of her life again until after Peter's death in 1725.
Карел де Моор (Moor, Carel de (1656-1738)) on Wikimedia
5. Eugène Marie Chantrelle
French teacher Eugène Marie Chantrelle had a documented history of physically abusing and threatening his wife, Elizabeth, before taking out a large accidental-death insurance policy on her in 1877. Just one year later, Elizabeth was found on death’s door after being poisoned, and investigators quickly learned that Chantrelle was to blame. A jury convicted him, and he was hanged in 1878.
Unidentified photographer on Wikimedia
6. Edward William Pritchard
Chantrelle was far from the only man to poison his wife. Glasgow doctor Edward William Pritchard also poisoned his wife, Mary Jane, during the winter of 1864 and 1865. Obviously, her health mysteriously got worse under his care, and authorities eventually discovered that she'd been given antimony and aconite. Pritchard didn’t even stop there—he was also convicted of poisoning his mother-in-law, Jane Taylor. He was found guilty in 1865 and publicly hanged.
Cramb Brothers (James and John). 67 West Nile Street, Glasgow. on Wikimedia
7. William Henry Bury
William Henry Bury's troubled marriage to Ellen Elliott ended violently in 1889, when he strangled her. He then stuffed her remains into a box before approaching police with a false story about her having taken her own life. Bury didn’t get away with the ruse, though. He later came clean and was convicted and hanged in 1889.
8. Frederick Bailey Deeming
Frederick Bailey Deeming was…not a good person. In 1891, he not only claimed the life of his first wife, Marie, but he also snuffed out their four children. He then stuffed their bodies beneath a floor. He subsequently married Emily Mather under an assumed identity and murdered her too in 1891, again hiding her body beneath the flooring. Deeming was finally convicted and hanged in 1892.
9. George Joseph Smith
Between 1912 and 1914, bigamist George Joseph Smith drowned three women he'd gone through marriage ceremonies with: Bessie Mundy, Alice Burnham, and Margaret Lofty. Each death initially looked accidental, but there were far too many similarities that exposed what became known as the "Brides in the Bath" murders. Smith was convicted and hanged in 1915.
10. Hawley Harvey Crippen
American-born doctor Hawley Harvey Crippen was convicted of murdering his second wife, Cora, who disappeared from their home in 1910. Remains were later found beneath the cellar floor, but Crippen had already fled Britain with his mistress, Ethel Le Neve. Luckily, he was arrested on a ship bound for Canada, and a jury found him guilty. He was hanged in 1910.
11. Herbert Rowse Armstrong
Solicitor Herbert Rowse Armstrong secretly administered arsenic to his wife, Katharine, who died in 1921, after months of poor health. Investigators knew something was fishy, later exhuming her body to find substantial quantities of arsenic. Armstrong was convicted and hanged in 1922.
12. Buck Ruxton
Doctor Buck Ruxton had repeatedly accused his common-law wife, Isabella, of infidelity, making several threats on her life before she disappeared in 1935. Prosecutors proved that he did it, but also that he killed the family's housemaid, Mary Rogerson, too. He was convicted and hanged in 1936.
13. Norman Mailer
During a party at their New York apartment in 1960, writer Norman Mailer stabbed his wife, Adele Morales, twice with a penknife. She somehow survived the attack and even declined to pursue a complaint, which stopped prosecutors from handing down the more serious charge. Mailer did plead guilty to third-degree assault in 1961, however, and got a suspended sentence along with three years of probation.
14. Miles Davis
Jazz legend Miles Davis may have revolutionized the genre, but things weren’t as simple as a solo behind closed doors. He admitted that he repeatedly hit his wife, Frances Taylor, during their marriage, which lasted from 1959 until their divorce. By 1964 and 1965, the violence had become bad enough that Taylor ran away, later describing herself as having been afraid for her life. Davis blamed it on jealousy in his own autobiography, and he received no criminal punishment.
Antonisse, Marcel / Anefo on Wikimedia
15. Steve McQueen
Neile Adams described a frightening side of her marriage to actor Steve McQueen: beatings, substance abuse, and an incident in which he held a firearm to her head demanding she come clean about an affair. By 1971, after another assault, their marriage was over, and the divorce became final the following year. McQueen wasn't prosecuted or otherwise legally punished.
16. Ike Turner
If you know about Tina Turner, you likely know all about what Ike did to her. She described years of severe physical abuse, including beatings, choking, and broken bones. Their marriage ended after another violent confrontation in 1976, when Tina fled their hotel with little more than pocket change. She filed for divorce and was able to rebuild a solo career, while Ike wasn't punished for what he did.
Rob Mieremet / Adam Cuerden on Wikimedia
17. Phil Spector
During their marriage, Ronnie Spector said producer Phil Spector controlled her movements, threatened her with weapons, removed her shoes to discourage escape, and treated her like a prisoner in her own home. She finally escaped barefoot in 1972 with help from her mother. Phil wasn't punished for what he did to her, but decades later he was convicted of murdering Lana Clarkson and sentenced to 19 years to life.
Unknown photographer on Wikimedia
18. James Brown
In 1988, Adrienne Brown told police that her husband James Brown beat her with an iron pipe and fired shots at a car while she was inside it. Brown was charged with a few different counts, but Adrienne ultimately declined to testify. The charges were dropped, and further accusations followed during the 1990s.
19. O.J. Simpson
Whether you agree with his final conviction or not, Simpson treated his wife terribly long before the blowout case. In 1989, police responded to Nicole Brown Simpson's home and found her injured after an attack authorities said involved punching, slapping, and kicking by O.J. Rather than face trial, he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor spousal abuse. His punishment was two years of probation, 120 hours of community service, fines, counseling requirements, and an order to contribute money to a battered-women's shelter.
Don Cormier, Los Angeles Times on Wikimedia
20. Louis Althusser
French philosopher Louis Althusser strangled his wife, sociologist Hélène Rytmann, at their apartment in 1980. He confessed to a doctor what he'd done and was hospitalized, after which psychiatric experts concluded that severe mental illness had left him legally incapable of criminal responsibility. Althusser never stood trial, but he was confined to institutions and was forced into retirement.
Arturo Espinosa from barcelona, Cataluña (España) on Wikimedia
