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The Little-Known Story Of John Billington, The Mayflower Pilgrim Who Became The First Murderer In American History
The Little-Known Story Of John Billington, The Mayflower Pilgrim Who Became The First Murderer In American History Before committing his historic murder, John Billington was punished for a number of other offenses in Plymouth and became a social outcast — but scholars now think there might be more to his story. In 1620, a ship carrying 102 people left England for the New World. It landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in November, and its crew was fatally unprepared for what lay ahead. During the first winter, half of the Pilgrims perished. The survivors slowly added to their numbers until 1630, when the colonists discovered a murderer in their midst: John Billington. Billington had come over on the Mayflower with his wife and two sons but had earned a reputation as a troublemaker. And in 1630, he shot another colonist. The crime made John Billington the first English settler to kill another English settler in the New World and also earned him the name “the Mayflower Murderer.” But histori...