Clara Lambert
Militant British suffragette
Category Archives: Crime
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Mary Young
Notorious Irish pickpocket and head of a criminal gang
Alice May Parkinson
Alice May Parkinson’s conviction and imprisonment for manslaughter became a cause célèbre in New Zealand in the years before 1920.
Beatrice Cenci
Roman woman who killed her father
Flora MacKenzie
Between 1962 and 1976 Flora MacKenzie appeared in court six times on brothel-keeping charges, and was twice imprisoned for periods of six months.
Charlotte Corday
French heroine, assassin of Marat
Amy Maud Bock
New Zealand’s most celebrated and energetic confidence trickster
Dr Dian Fossey
Dr Dian Fossey was one of the world’s leading experts on primatology (the study of primates) and spent 18 years in African mountain forests studying gorillas. Fossey conducted the majority of her zoological research in the Congo jungle and Rwandan forests. In addition to anti-poaching activism, she pioneered scientific discoveries about gorilla societal structure. Her best-selling book, Gorillas In The Mist, was later adapted into a film. Her 1985 murder remains unsolved. She also reportedly tortured her enemies, kidnapped their children, and killed their livestock, along with lesser retaliatory acts. She was also known to be racist to the local Rwandans.
Agrippina the Younger
Julia Agrippina was a powerful Roman empress and one of the most prominent and effective women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Ancient sources describe Agrippina as ruthless, ambitious, violent and domineering, as well as beautiful.
She was a major figure in succession intrigues and served as a behind-the-scenes advisor in affairs of state, as the sister of Caligula, wife of Claudius, and ally of statesmen Seneca the Younger and Sextus Afranius Burrus. She maneuvered Nero, her son by a previous marriage, into the line of succession. Her husband Claudius became aware of her plotting, but died in 54 (possibly poisoned by Agrippina, as she was accused by ancient historians), and Nero took the throne. Agrippina exerted a commanding influence in the early years of his reign, but in 59 he had her killed, ending skillful machinations and her political influence once and for all.
Locusta
Locusta was a notorious poison-maker of the 1st-century Roman Empire. She supposedly conspired in the assassinations of Claudius and Britannicus. For several years, she was a favourite of emperor Nero, who had her provide training to other poisoners in his service. After Nero’s death, Locusta was executed by his successor, Galba.