Dick Turpin

Richard "Dick" Turpin (21st September 1705 - 7th April 1739) was an English highwayman, gang member, murderer, outlaw and folk hero. Like Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Ned Kelly and many other outlaws, he was romanticised after his death and became known as a folk hero, despite in fact being a criminal and a killer during his lifetime.

Biography
Dick Turpin was born in the Blue Bell inn in Essex in 1705. In the early 1730s, he became involved with the Essex Gang, a brutal gang known for poaching and raiding people's houses. They would often torture those they found in the house if they couldn't find their money, with Turpin himself allegedly turning an old woman over a fire when she refused to tell them where her life savings were. During another raid in Edgware, Turpin beat the homeowner on the buttocks with his pistol, while other members of the gang bludgeoned him and poured boiling water over him, while the gang's leader, Jasper Gregory, raped one of the maidservants.

In 1735, a member of the gang confessed and informed on the rest of them in return for a pardon, resulting in the arrest of all members except Turpin and another member, Thomas Rowden, who managed to escape capture. Both became highwaymen (an old word for highway robber), and were seen robbing coaches together until Rowden was convicted of counterfeiting under an alias, and later transported after his true identity was discovered. Turpin continued as a highwayman, working with Matthew King, a highwayman often falsely identified as Tom King. After a string of robberies, King was tracked down after stealing a horse in Whitechapel in 1737. During the ensuing melee, King was fatally shot, allegedly by Turpin while trying to kill Richard Bayes, one of the men who followed King, although some say that Bayes fired the shot. Turpin subsequently began hiding in Epping Forest.

While hiding in Epping Forest, Turpin was recognised by forest keeper Thomas Morris, who attempted to arrest him. However, Turpin shot him dead, a crime for which a £200 reward was but out for his capture. Turpin fled and began using the name "John Palmer".

While masquerading as John Palmer, Turpin was temporarily detained in 1738 after he threatened to shoot a man. He was released after preventing a jailbreak, but was arrested again soon after when a man alleged he had stolen his horses, an offense punishable, at that time, by death. While imprisoned, he wrote a letter to his brother-in-law, however the man entrusted to deliver the message was Turpin's former teacher, who recognised his handwriting as that of Dick Turpin and informed the police. Having been confirmed as Dick Turpin, Turpin was hanged in April 1739.