True Life Tuesday: Edward Dando

This story is quite strange. Not much is known about Edward Dando's early life but it is believed that he was born around 1803. He did work for a while as a hatter. In 1826 her started going to food sellers where he would eat and drink and then stating he had no money to pay. While he was out of work he was offered poor relief but he declined stating that he despised it. 

He was arrested for the first time in 1828. In April 1830 he was sentenced to one month at the house of corrections in Brixton, Surrey under the Vagrancy Act of 1804. While there he spent some time in solitary confinement for taking food from other prisoners. The day he was released he walked into an oyster shop and ate 13 dozen oysters washed down with 5 bottles of ginger beer. He was arrested again and this time sentenced to 3 months in prison. He stated that he was hungry due to the lack of food in prison. He was in front of the court again in December 1830 however he was let go. The magistrate stated that the shop owners should have asked him for the money in advance. He was once again arrested in January 1831 and was incarcerated until October. He was found drunk in January 1832 and spent 8 days in jail for public drunkenness.

In March 1832 Edward to his story to the press. He stated that he refused to "starve in a land of plenty." In August of 1832 he was once again arrested and sent to Coldbath Fields prison. While there he caught cholera and died on August 28, 1832. Many poems and street ballads were written about him. He also had stories written about him by William Makepeace Thackeray and Charles Dickens.