Unidentified photographer 1871 Abdulla, the murderer of Judge John Paxton Norman of Calcutta
Carte de visite, front and back Private collection of James Morley This carte de visite was the subject of an interesting exchange of information on Flickr page of "whatsthatpicture" between James Morley and Caroline Beveridge that provides a historical context
Charles Edward Buckland, Bengal under the Lieutenant-Governors (Deep Publications, 1901)
On 20th Sept 1871 the Officiating Chief Justice of the High Court the Hon'ble John Paxton Norman was stabbed in the back under his left shoulder as he ascended the steps of the Town Hall on his way to Court, he regained consciousness but died a few hours later on the morning of the 21st. The murderer was from the Punjab and called Abdulla he had been living in a mosque in Calcutta for the previous 2 years. He was tried convicted, sentenced and hanged by Judge Gregory Charles Paul - later Sir and who rose to become the Advocate General in Bengal from 1878 until the end of 1899 when he resigned due to ill health (he died on 1st Jan 1900).
