EXTREMIST

Sawney Bean

1600 - 1600

Photo of Sawney Bean

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Alexander "Sawney" Bean (sometimes also given as Sandy Bane, etc.) is a legendary figure, said to have been the head of a 45-member clan in Scotland in the 16th century that murdered and cannibalised over 1,000 people in 25 years. According to the legend, Bean and his clan members were eventually caught by a search party sent by King James VI, and were executed for their heinous crimes. The story appeared in The Newgate Calendar, a sensationalised crime catalogue loosely connected with Newgate Prison in London. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Sawney Bean has received more than 3,290,561 page views. His biography is available in 21 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 19 in 2019). Sawney Bean is the 55th most popular extremist (down from 45th in 2019), the 797th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 687th in 2019) and the most popular British Extremist.

Sawney Bean was a cannibal who lived in a cave in Scotland. He had 20 children with his wife, and they all ate human flesh.

Memorability Metrics

  • 3.3M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 61.34

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 21

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.28

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.68

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among EXTREMISTS

Among extremists, Sawney Bean ranks 55 out of 283. Before him are Pavlik Morozov, Edmund Kemper, Butch Cassidy, Issei Sagawa, Friedrich Jeckeln, and Aileen Wuornos. After him are Michel Fourniret, Dennis Rader, Marc Dutroux, Mohammed Deif, Henri Désiré Landru, and Luis Garavito.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1600, Sawney Bean ranks 5. Before him are Pope Clement IX, Charles I of England, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, and Claude Lorrain. After him are False Dmitry II, Marie de Rohan, Nicolas Sanson, Simeon Bekbulatovich, Maria Celeste, Kuchum, and Gabriel Naudé. Among people deceased in 1600, Sawney Bean ranks 3. Before him are Giordano Bruno, and Ishida Mitsunari. After him are Enrique of Malacca, Catharina van Hemessen, Bâkî, Konishi Yukinaga, José de Acosta, Luis de Molina, Gaspar de Lemos, Hosokawa Gracia, and Ōtani Yoshitsugu.

Others Born in 1600

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Others Deceased in 1600

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Sawney Bean ranks 797 out of 8,785. Before him are Thomas Malory (1405), Tom Hardy (1977), Leonora Carrington (1917), Tom Conti (1941), Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (1757), and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York (1473). After him are Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (1848), John Ambrose Fleming (1849), Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (1897), William Ewart Gladstone (1809), David Harvey (1935), and John Vane (1927).

Others born in United Kingdom

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Among EXTREMISTS In United Kingdom

Among extremists born in United Kingdom, Sawney Bean ranks 1. After him are Emperor Norton (1818), Harold Shipman (1946), Dennis Nilsen (1945), Fred West (1941), John Adams (1767), Mary Bell (1957), John Haigh (1909), Mary Ann Cotton (1832), Peter Sutcliffe (1946), Guy Burgess (1911), and Amelia Dyer (1837).

British born Extremists

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