1636: Johann Albrecht Adelgrief, king-scourged
October 11th, 2019 Headsman
October 11, 1636 was a grievous date for self-proclaimed prophet Johann Albrecht Adelgrief, who was burned as a sorcerer and heretic.
Adelgrief (English Wikipedia entry | the equally terse German) was the educated son of a Protestant minister and could wield multiple ancient languages including whatever tongue was the address of seven heavenly angels who “had come down from heaven and given him the commission to banish evil from the world, and to scourge the monarchs with rods of iron.” Not going to lie, there are some a few monarchs out there that could use a good scourging.
Alas, the nearest potential scourgee, the Duke of Prussia, made sure the rods were wielded in their customary direction. Adelgrief met his fate aptly in Königsberg (“King’s Mountain”: it’s modern-day Kaliningrad, Russia), where he was condemned for witchcraft. All his writings were suppressed.
On this day..
- 1843: Jacob West, Ridge-Watie faction assassin - 2020
- 1871: Eugen Kvaternik, for the Rakovica revolt - 2018
- 1946: Damian Kratzenberg, Luxembourg Nazi - 2017
- 1914: Lt. Jean-Julien Chapelant, mort pour la France - 2016
- 1689: Fyodor Shaklovity, marking the arrival of Peter the Great - 2015
- 1593: Gabriel Wolff, Nuremberg adventurer - 2014
- 2009: Behnoud Shojaee, Mohammad Mostafaei client - 2013
- 1817: Gertrudis Bocanegra, Mexican independence heroine - 2012
- 1878: Bill Longley, gunslinger - 2011
- Unspecified Year: The Last Day of a Condemned Man - 2010
- 1870: Margaret Waters, baby farmer - 2009
- 1936: Antonio José, forgotten composer - 2008
Entry Filed under: 17th Century,Burned,Capital Punishment,Death Penalty,Execution,Germany,Heresy,History,Prussia,Public Executions,Religious Figures,Revolutionaries,Russia,Witchcraft
Tags: 1630s, 1636, johann adelgrief, kaliningrad, koenigsberg, october 11, prophet
