Turpin, Dick
Turpin, Dick (1706–39). Highwayman. Dick Turpin became a popular hero and the stuff of legend. He was, in fact, a leader of a gang of Essex ruffians, whose speciality was robbery with violence. He went into partnership with Tom King, whom he accidentally shot in a skirmish. Turpin escaped to York, where he traded in horses, and was hanged on 7 April 1739 for stealing a mare. The story of the celebrated ride to York to establish an alibi was told of John Nevison, or ‘Swift Nick’, who was hanged at York in 1685: it was given fully by Defoe in his Tour, published in 1724. There is no reference to the ride in contemporary accounts of Turpin's life or trial, and the story owed its Victorian popularity to W. H. Ainsworth's novel Rookwood (1834). Turpin and Tom King were a very popular pair of Staffordshire China figures, now collectors' items.
J. A. Cannon
Turpin, Dick
Turpin, Dick (1706–39), English highwayman who was hanged at York for horse-stealing. His escapades (including a dramatic ride from London to York on his horse Black Bess) were romanticized by Harrison Ainsworth in his novel Rookwood (1834).
More From encyclopedia.com
Tom , Tom male personal forename.
Tom and Jerry names of the two chief characters in Egan's Life in London, 1821, and its continuation, 1828; whence in var… Tom-tom , Skip to main content
tom-tom Uncle Tom , Uncle To m is associated with negative, self-denigrating attributes. An Uncle Tom is a black person who is submissive, docile, self-effacing, a race… Stephen King , King, Stephen
Portland, Maine
American author
Stephen King is a very popular author of horror fiction. In his works he blends elements of the traditi… Tom Seaver , Tom Seaver
Seaver, Tom
1944-
American baseball player
As Tom Seaver himself put it, there was nothing like "seeing someone do what they love, and do… Legacy , Legacy
The militant political legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is in eclipse, and his historical reputation is frequently distorted…
About this article
Dick Turpin
All Sources -
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
Dick Turpin