John William Bean

Bean was born in Holborn, Middlesex as the son of a jeweller. He was born with a hunchback and dwarfism.[1] He attempted to join working with his father but was unable to keep up with the physical requirements for the work. He also had failed apprenticeships with a cheesemonger and at Her Majesty's Stationery Office .[1] Bean became fascinated by stories of Edward Oxford whom had attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria. He sold his Bible and other books in order to buy a second-hand flintlock pistol for 3 shillings in the hopes of emulating him.[1]

On 3 July 1842, Bean was on The Mall and Queen Victoria was passing on her way from Buckingham Palace to the Chapel Royal. Bean went to the front of the crowd, drew his gun and fired at the Queen. However the gun misfired as it had mostly been loaded with paper and tobacco.[2][3] Immediately, Bean was grabbed by the wrist by Charles Edward Dassett who took him over to two nearby policemen. The policemen laughed at the accusation and said they could not charge him due to lack of evidence.[4] Dassett kept the gun and was arrested later in possession of it but told them about Bean which was supported by witnesses from the scene of the crime. The description given of Bean was that of a hunchback, so the majority of hunchbacks in London ended up getting arrested as a result.[5] Bean was later arrested at his home in Clerkenwell.[6] The two policemen were suspended from duty for not taking Dassett's accusation seriously.[6]

Bean was initially charged with high treason but this was later reduced to a misdemeanour of assaulting the Queen. This was done on the grounds that the police believed he was just attention seeking and thought the newspapers would pay less attention to the case if it was a lesser charge.[4] Bean claimed that he had not intended to kill the Queen and that she was in no danger as he claimed he had actually aimed at the ground rather than at her.[6] Bean stated he wanted to be transported to Australia as he was tired of his life in England.[7] Usually for a misdemeanour, Bean would have been given the opportunity for bail, however no one was willing to provide the required surety and his father was only permitted to visit to send Bean his mother's love.[4]

The case was heard at the Old Bailey before Lord Arbinger with the Solicitor General for England and Wales prosecuting. With several witnesses presented and testifying against him, Bean was found guilty.[8] The jury did not leave the jury box to deliberate before pronouncing their verdict.[6] Lord Arbinger sentenced Bean to 18 months imprisonment as that was the harshest sentence he could impose under English common law.[6] He sentenced Bean initially to be imprisoned at Newgate Prison but this was later changed to Millbank Prison.[9]

Following the case, the Queen's husband Prince Albert felt that treasonable acts which were factually harmless which resulted in a death penalty were too harsh. Accordingly he asked Parliament to make a law to recognise minor treason offences that did not carry the death penalty. That wish was fulfilled with the passage of the Treason Act 1842.[10]

When Bean was released, he became a newspaper seller and jeweler. He would get married twice and had a son called Samuel in 1849. In 1877 he was confined to a lunatic asylum. On 19 July 1882, Bean was found dead at his home in Camberwell after consuming a large amount of opium from a bottle labelled "poison".[11] He left a suicide note stating he committed suicide because he felt he "was an incumbrance to his wife".[5] A coroner's inquiry at St Thomas' Hospital found for a verdict of death by suicide caused by temporary insanity.[11]