John Thurtell

John Thurtell (21 December 1793 – 9 January 1824) was an English sports promoter, amateur boxer, Royal Marine officer and convicted murderer.

[2][3] His father wanted him to work in the family business, but John left to join the Royal Marines, serving in the Napoleonic Wars on HMS Bellona from 1812 to 1814.

[6] In 1822, William Hazlitt wrote an essay for The New Monthly Magazine called "The Fight"; in it he described Thurtell under the name "Tom Turtle".

Thurtell invited Weare to join him and his friends – Joseph Hunt and William Probert – for a weekend of gambling in Radlett, Hertfordshire.

This failed to kill him, so Thurtell slit his throat with a knife before driving the pistol into his head with such force that his brains were dashed over the ground.