Harris, Phoebe (1755–1786)
Harris, Phoebe (1755–1786)
British coiner who was one of the last persons in England executed by hanging and burning at the stake . Born in 1755; died in 1786 (some sources cite 1788).
Coining, at the time considered a serious crime by the British government, involved defacing coins of the realm by melting them down and selling them as gold or silver for profit. Phoebe Harris was a coiner for most of her short life. Caught and sentenced to death in 1786, she became almost as well known for her execution as for her crimes. In what was described as "a barbaric event" (albeit not an uncommon one for women), Harris was first hanged, then burned in front of a throng of 20,000 curious spectators. Harris' execution was among the last of its kind in England. One other woman named Margaret Sullivan was similarly hanged and burned two years after Harris. The combination of hanging and burning at the stake was repealed as a form of capital punishment in the 1790s. Hanging, of course, continued.