A head strung up on a lamp stand during the 1912 Revolution in China. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1912

The corpse of Elizabeth Stride, murdered by Jack the Ripper at Derner Street, September 30, 1888. Jack the Ripper was an English serial killer who killed five women in London in 1888 and was never caught. (Photo by Express Newspapers/Getty Images)

A Chinese revolutionary is summarily beheaded in the street by Imperial troops. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1912

Field where General Reynolds fell at the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle took place from July 1 to July 3, 1863. (Photo by Timothy H O'Sullivan/Getty Images)

Executed Communards in coffins, the anonymous victims of the civil war between the Third Republic and the Paris Commune, during the Franco-Prussian war. During “Bloody Week” (21–28th May) 40,000 were killed in street fighting or summary executions. (Photo by Eugene Appert/Getty Images). 1871

Interior of the Secundra after Sir Colin Campbell's relief of Lucknow when 2,000 rebel sepoys were slaughtered by the 93rd Highlanders and the 4th Punjab Regiment. (Photo by Felice Beato/Getty Images). 1858

A crowd in the yard of Washington DC's Old Penitentiary, watching the hanging of Mrs Surratt and John Wilkes Booth's conspirators in the plot to kill President Lincoln. The conspirators were Mrs. Surratt, Lewis Payne, David Herold, and George Atzerodt. (Photo by Alexander Gardner/Getty Images). 1865

The corpse of a dead soldier after the Battle of Petersburg, Virginia, during the American Civil War, 1864. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Emily Davison (1872–1913) is fatally injured as she tries to stop the King's horse “Amner” on Derby Day, to draw attention to the Women's Suffragette movement. (Photo by Arthur Barrett/Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1913

After their capture of Delhi the Indian mutineers lost the city to British forces who extracted swift reprisals by hanging the leaders. Two of them are hanging from a gallows. (Photo by Felice Beato/Getty Images). 1858

Tsar Alexander II (1818–1881) known as “The Liberator” lying in state. He was mortally wounded by an assassination attack in St Petersburg. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). March 1881

A grieving woman sits by a rough wooden coffin in which is lies the body of a family member, the victim of a pogrom. (Photo by Henry Guttmann/Getty Images). Circa 1900

An African villager takes aim at a leopard which has attacked a youth. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 21st December 1910

Decapitated body of a victim of the 1912 Revolution in China. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1912

The burial of soldiers after Battle of Adrianople in Balkans. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). October 1913

Burial practice in Dutch New Guinea. The corpse of a Papnan is placed on the bier. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1910

Wilhelm I (1797–1888), king of Prussia and first German Emperor lying in state. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 9th March 1888

Chinese crowd round two decapitated bodies. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1912

Bodies lie in the public gardens in Mexico City during the conflict between the USA and Mexico. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1913

A decapitated body lies in the street while two foreigners look on, during the Revolution in China 1911–12. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1912

Mountaineers bringing down the dead bodies of fellow climbers on Mount Blanc. (Photo by G. Tairraz/Picture Post/Getty Images). 18th August 1895

A gruesome picture of victim's head and spoil are strung up on a pole during the Revolution in China 1911–12. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1912

The dead lie in the street following the bombardment of Vera Cruz by the Americans. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1913

A highway robber is executed with a well-aimed shot at Chia Tsoa, Honan, 1912. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)