Thomas Derrick
Thomas Derrick was an English executioner ''c.'' 1608.In English history, executioner was not a commonly chosen career path because of the risk of friends and families of the deceased knowing who the executioner was and where to find him. Executioners were sometimes coerced into the role. Derrick in particular had been convicted of rape but was pardoned by the Earl of Essex (clearing him of the death penalty) on the condition that he became an executioner at Tyburn.
Derrick executed more than 3,000 people in his career, including his pardoner, the Earl of Essex, in 1601. Derrick devised a beam with a topping lift and pulleys for his hangings, instead of the old-fashioned rope over the beam method.
The word ''derrick'' became an eponym for the frame from which the hangman's noose was supported and through that usage (by analogy) to modern day cranes. Provided by Wikipedia
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1by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith), 1874-1936Other Authors: “...Derrick, Thomas...”
Created 1930
Location: University of St. Thomas Libraries, University of St. Thomas
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2by Belloc, Hilaire, 1870-1953Other Authors: “...Derrick, Thomas...”
Created 1931
Location: University of St. Thomas Libraries, University of St. Thomas
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3Created 1930Other Authors: “...Derrick, Thomas...”
Location: Marian Library, University of Dayton
Book