Burning of Washington Burning of Washington The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, during the War of 1812. On August 24, 1814, after defeating the Americans at the Battle of Bladensburg, a British force led by Major General Robert Ross burned down buildings including the White House (known as the "Presidential Mansion"), the Capitol, as well as other facilities of the U.S. government. The attack was in part a retaliation for the recent American destruction of Port Dover in Upper Canada. The Burning of Washington marks the only time since the American Revolutionary
Capital punishment in the Isle of Man Capital punishment in the Isle of Man Capital punishment in the Isle of Man was formally abolished in 1993. The Isle of Man is a British Crown Dependency, but not part of the United Kingdom (which had effectively abolished capital punishment in 1965). The last person to be actually hanged on the Isle of Man was John Kewish, at Castletown in 1872. No execution had taken place on the island during the three decades before that. Capital punishment was not abolished by Tynwald (the island's parliament) until 1993. Many people were sentenced to death (for murder and various other crimes)