Prince William
Famous Astronauts
Nelson Mandela
Kanye West
My Ghost Story
I Survived
Liberace
Leonardo DiCaprio
Annie Oakley
I Survived
Quick Facts
- NAME: Ruth Ellis
- OCCUPATION: Murderer
- BIRTH DATE: October 09, 1926
- DEATH DATE: July 13, 1955
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Rhyl, Wales
- PLACE OF DEATH: London, England
- Maiden Name: Ruth Neilson
Best Known For
Ruth Ellis is best known for the murder of her lover, leading to her execution, the last of a woman in England.
Quiz
Think you know about Biography?
Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.
Play NowRuth Ellis. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 11:48, Jun 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/ruth-ellis-229549.
Ruth Ellis. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/ruth-ellis-229549 [Accessed 18 Jun 2013].
"Ruth Ellis." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 18 2013, 11:48 http://www.biography.com/people/ruth-ellis-229549.
"Ruth Ellis," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/ruth-ellis-229549 [accessed Jun 18, 2013].
"Ruth Ellis," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/ruth-ellis-229549 (accessed Jun 18, 2013).
Ruth Ellis [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/ruth-ellis-229549.
Ruth Ellis, http://www.biography.com/people/ruth-ellis-229549 (last visited Jun 18, 2013).
Ruth Ellis. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/ruth-ellis-229549. Accessed Jun 18, 2013.
Synopsis
Ruth Ellis was born October 9, 1926 in Rhyl, Wales. She left home at the age of 14 to work as a waitress. Ruth had two children from different, neither would recognize the child. In a tumultuous relationship with David Blakely, Ruth ended up killing him outside of a pub. She was the last woman to be executed in England.
Quotes
It is obvious that when I shot him I intended to kill him.
Profile
Murderer. Born Ruth Neilson on October 9, 1927 in Rhyl, Wales. The daughter of a cellist and one of five children raised in a strict Catholic home, Ruth Ellis left school at age 14 to work as a waitress. At age 17, she had a brief affair with a married man and gave birth to a son. After a short while, she never heard from the father again. To support a young child on her own, Ellis began modeling and then became a nightclub hostess.
At the age of 23, Ruth married George Johnson Ellis. The troubled marriage ended in separation and produced a daughter whom George would not acknowledge. Ruth soon took up with another man, David Blakely, but the turbulent relationship was fraught with jealousy. The situation was spinning out of control when, on the evening of Easter Sunday, April 10, 1955, Ellis fired five rounds at Blakely while he was leaving a local pub. Blakely was rushed to the New End Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Ruth Ellis was charged with murder and found guilty on June 20, 1955. On July 13, 1955, at the age of 28, Ellis made history by becoming the last woman to hang in England. Her hanging provoked much controversy and in 1965 the death penalty was abolished in Britain.
© 2013 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.
profile name: Ruth Ellis profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Women Gone Mad
View groupWomen have been known historically as the "gentler sex," but these ladies put that fallacy to rest once and for all. Their rage, desperation, or drive for vengeance has pushed them over the edge, landing them in the headlines for their deadly outbursts.
Women Gone Mad 15 people in this group
-
Famous Welsh People 16 people in this group
-
Loved to Death
View groupWhen one lover attacks another in a moment of unbridled emotion—or tries to eliminate their romantic competition—it's traditionally been known as 'a crime of passion.' These days, fits of rage over lost love are often chalked up to 'temporary insanity.' Whatever you call them, crimes committed in the name of love have been part of our cultural history since ancient times. Here are some of the most famous examples of passion-gone-wrong, from those who couldn't bear to part with their true love to those who found themselves on the receiving end of an obsessive romance.
Loved to Death 18 people in this group
