20 Legendary Duels From History That Could Be Straight Out Of A Movie
Nowadays, you might think someone was mad if they challenged you to a duel. But go back a couple of hundred years, and this was a pretty standard way for people to settle their differences. Throughout history, duelists have met to fight over political disputes, romantic rivalries, and sometimes for reasons that in retrospect appear ludicrously petty. Accused of cheating in a card game? Received a bad review? Heard someone insult your flower arrangement? Challenge them to a duel! As it turns out, our ancestors were a pretty dramatic bunch, especially when you think that these duels often resulted in death. We’re happy to stick to lively debate, but these 20 pairs of duelists weren’t.
1. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr — 1804
Immortalized in a stage musical, the confrontation between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr is perhaps the best-known duel in America’s history. In 1804 both men were well-known senior politicians. Burr was President Thomas Jefferson’s vice president, while Hamilton had served as secretary of the treasury. The duel came after Hamilton had mounted an at-times vicious campaign against Burr’s bid to be elected as New York’s governor, an attempt that failed.
Public outrage
Burr apparently felt that the only way to counter Hamilton’s slurs against him was to challenge the man to a duel. The appointed venue was a well-known dueling location not far from Weehawken in New Jersey. Armed with pistols, the two men fired. Hamilton missed, but Burr hit him in the stomach, killing him. The slaying resulted in public outrage; it brought Burr’s political career to an end.
2. Lady Almeria Braddock and Mrs. Elphinstone — 1792
It seems that this Mrs. Elphinstone — we have no first name — was visiting the home of Lady Almeria Braddock. The scene was set in London and the occasion was a very British one, a tea party. Perhaps unthinkingly, Elphinstone remarked to Lady Braddock that she must once have been a very beautiful woman. The good lady took grave exception to the implication that her looks had now faded.
A great story
The mortally offended Lady Braddock immediately challenged Elphinstone to a duel. Armed with pistols, the two met to settle their differences in central London’s Hyde Park. A bullet whizzed through Lady Braddock’s hat, while Elphinstone was wounded in the arm. Honor was declared to be satisfied. It’s a great story. Sadly, it’s almost certainly not true. Although the duel was reported in the Carlton House Magazine, there never was a Lady Braddock.
