Who knows?

Wednesday, May 22, 1991 - 10:00

A reader in the Northern Territory sends a list of questions that sounds more like a quiz than a request for information. They are:

"When and where did the first prison come into existence?

"Which prison has the longest record of continuous use?

"Who invented them?

"What is the longest sentence ever served and who served it and why?"

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, "the first modern prison is thought to have been the Walnut Street Jail built in Philadelphia in 1790. Its antecedents are to be found in the workhouses and houses of correction established in London (1557), Amsterdam (1596), Rome (1704), and Ghent (1773)."

The same source also mentions the Delle Stinche in Florence (1300) as "akin to the prison", whatever that means.

Can any reader help with the other questions?

From GLW issue 13