Dick Turpin

Dick Turpin and his horse (drawn by George Cruikshank, 1849)

Dick Turpin (1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman. He made a lot of money through many criminal activities, such as poaching, burglary, horse theft and murder. He is most famous for 'highway robbery', on his horse, Black Bess. He was eventually captured and hanged at York Castle in 1739.

Turpin was born in Hempstead, Essex. He was firstly believed to be involved with a gang of poachers, who stole and sold deer that belonged to the King. The rest of his gang were captured and hanged in 1735.

After this, Turpin started robbing rich people on the highways between cities. He did not stay in one place, so police could not catch up with him. He robbed people across the South of England. For a while, he tried to hide by calling himself John Palmer.

However, people were suspicious that he had a lot of money, and he was arrested for horse theft. He was charged with this offence and hanged in Knavesmire, York on 7 April 1739.