Admiral Byng

English Admiral John Byng was court-martialled, condemned to death and shot on March 14, 1757 at Portsmouth, aboard HMS Monarch.
In 1759 the execution was satirized by Voltaire in Candide:

"Dans ce pays-ci, il est bon de tuer de temps en temps un amiral pour encourager les autres."

"In this country, it is wise to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others."