Franz Müller (31 October 1840 – 14 November 1864) was a German tailor who was hanged for the murder of Thomas Briggs, the first killing on a British train.

The case caught the imagination of the public due to increasing safety fears about rail travel at the time and the pursuit of Müller across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City by Scotland Yard.

[2] When the train reached Hackney Wick (the local name for Victoria Park Station),[3] the guard was alerted by two bankers who discovered pools of blood in Briggs' compartment.

The box had been sold by a jeweller in Cheapside, who identified Müller from a photograph and told investigators that the German had visited his shop on 11 July to exchange a gold chain.

On 20 July, Richard Tanner, a Scotland Yard inspector,[7][8] along with Matthews and the jeweller, sailed for New York from Liverpool on the Inman Line steamer City of Manchester in pursuit of Müller.

[13] The public hanging of Müller took place outside Newgate Prison in London on 14 November amid scenes of drunkenness and disorderly conduct by 50,000 spectators.

It also led to the creation of railway carriages with side corridors, which allowed passengers to move from their compartments while the train was in motion.