Arthur William Hodge
British Virgin Islands murderer
Arthur William Hodge (c. 1763 – 8 May 1811) was a Tortolan planter, politician, and serial killer who was executed by hanging in 1811 for murdering one of his slaves. Born in the British Virgin Islands, Hodge studied at Oriel College, Oxford, matriculating in 1781 before briefly serving as an officer in the 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welsh Fuzileers). Returning to Tortola in 1803, he settled down to a life as a plantation owner while also pursuing a political career, serving in both the colony's Executive Council and its Legislative Assembly. In 1811, Hodge was hanged after being found guilty of murdering a slave he owned, the first British subject to be executed for such a crime.
Early life
Arthur William Hodge was born in the British Virgin Islands, the son of Arthur Hodge of Tortola. He studied at Oriel College, Oxford, matriculating in December 1781. He briefly served in the British Army, being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welsh Fuzileers) on 3 December 1782. One of his three wives, Ann Hoggins (1779–1808), was a sister-in-law of the Marquess of Exeter. He was described as a man of great accomplishments and elegant manners. After his father's death in 1803, Hodge returned to Tortola to assume control of the family's plantation at Belle Vue.
The public source identifies “Arthur William Hodge” as british Virgin Islands murderer. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Arthur, William and Hodge.
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This entry incorporates text from “Arthur William Hodge” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.