Matthew Hopkins

Born around 1620 or 1621, he is best remembered as the self-styled "Witchfinder General," a title he appears to have used without any official appointment. Working mainly in East Anglia, he rose to prominence in the mid-1640s by investigating suspected witches and helping fuel a wave of trials.

His methods and claims were controversial even in his own time. In 1647, the same year he died, he published The Discovery of Witches, a book defending his actions and explaining the practices he used in his investigations.

Although his active career lasted only a short time, his name has endured as a symbol of fear, superstition, and the dangers of moral panic. Modern accounts remember him less as an authority than as one of the clearest examples of how hysteria can be turned into power.