Thomas Aikenhead

Thomas Aikenhead was the last person to be hanged for blasphemy in Great Britain.

Aikenhead was an undergraduate at the University of Edinburgh who had read deist literature the university library held. He supposedly criticized Christianity among a group of friends, and soon after that one of his friends ratted on him. In the fall of 1696 Aikenhead was arrested for blasphemy.

During the trial, five student "friends" testified against him, claiming that during their private conversations, Aikenhead had strongly rebuked the Old and New Testaments and even preferred Muhammad to Jesus. Although the prisoner did have a defense counsel, the defense wasn't recorded. The verdict promptly came in that Aikenhead was to be hanged on January 8, 1697.

The law at the time stated that the third offense for blasphemy would result in death. Aikenhead petitioned the Privy Council on the grounds of his "deplorable circumstances and tender years," but forgot to mention that it was his first time to be tried for blasphemy. Two ministers and two Privy Councillors pleaded on his behalf, and on January 7, the Council ruled that the Church had to intervene in order for him to be granted a reprieve. The Church, however, urged "vigorous execution" to slow down "the abounding of impiety and profanity in this land." The next day Aikenhead was hanged.

This event is also considered by many to be partly responsible for the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment.