Sir Godfrey McCulloch, 2nd Baronet (c. 1640 – 26 March 1697) (also lived under the alias "Mr. Johnstoune") was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 baronet and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 who was executed for murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

. In 1678 he served as a representative in the Convention of Estates (Scottish Parliament). In 1684, he shot William Gordon in the leg, partly as a result of a long-standing feud (rising from a land dispute) between his family and the Gordon family. Gordon later died of the infection caused by the wound. McCulloch was found guilty and sentenced to death. Although he initially escaped to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, he was captured when he returned to Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 in 1697 and beheaded. McCulloch had been living in Scotland since 1694 under the alias "Mr. Johnstoune". He was the last man to be executed on the Maiden

Maiden (beheading)

The Maiden is an early form of guillotine, or gibbet, once used as a means of execution in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Maiden is displayed at the National Museum of Scotland...

. Following his death, much of his family immigrated to America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and Cardoness Castle

Cardoness Castle

Cardoness Castle is a well-preserved 15th Century tower house just south west of Gatehouse of Fleet, south west Scotland. It was originally owned by the MacCulloch family of Galloway also known as the MacCullochs of Myreton. They abandoned the castle in the late 17th Century, following the...

, which had been owned by the family since c. 1470, was abandoned.

There is also a legend (quoted by Sir Walter Scott

Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....

, a distant relation) that McCulloch was in fact saved from execution by a gnome whom he had done a favour for earlier in life, and that he was never seen again. Another story tells that after his beheading, his headless body ran 100 yards down the Royal Mile

Royal Mile

The Royal Mile is a succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland.As the name suggests, the Royal Mile is approximately one Scots mile long, and runs between two foci of history in Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Castle...

. Given his sensational trial and the number of witnesses present, either story is unlikely at best.