Charles Bronson (born Michael Gordon Peterson, 6 December 1952) is an English criminal often referred to in the British press as the "most violent prisoner in Britain",Born in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, Peterson often found his way into fights before he began a bare-knuckle boxing career in the East End of London. His promoter was unhappy with his name and suggested he change it to Charles Bronson.
In 1974 he was imprisoned for a robbery and sentenced to seven years. While in prison he began making a name for himself as a loose cannon, often fighting convicts and prison guards. These fights added years onto his sentence. Regarded as a problem prisoner, he was moved 120 times throughout Her Majesty's Prison Service and spent most of that time in solitary confinement. What was originally a seven year term stretched out to a fourteen year sentence that resulted in his first wife, Irene, with whom he had a son, leaving him. He was released on 30 October 1988 but only spent sixty-nine days as a free man before he was arrested again.
While in jail in 2001 he married his second wife, Fatema Saira Rehman, a Bangladeshi-born divorcée who inspired him to convert to Islam and take the name of Charles Ali Ahmed. This second marriage lasted four years before he was divorced and renounced Islam.
Bronson is one of the most high profile criminals in Britain, and has been the subject of books, interviews and studies in prison reform and treatment. He is the subject of the 2008 film Bronson, the story based loosely around significant events during his life. In addition Bronson has himself written many books about his experiences and famous prisoners he has met throughout his internment. A self-declared fitness fanatic who spent multiple years in solitary, Bronson dedicated a book to working out in confined spaces.