Dick Turpin

Dick Turpin 1706-39, English robber. After a short and brutal career of horse stealing and general crime he was hanged at York. The fame—or notoriety—that he later achieved derives mainly from W. H. Ainsworth's romance, Rookwood (1834), which is based upon his life. Turpin's famous ride from London to York on his mare, Black Bess, is fiction, and his actual exploits were not of a romantic character.

Turpin, Dick (1706–39) English highwayman. He engaged in many forms of robbery and was hanged for murder. Turpin became a largely fictional hero; his famous ride to York on Black Bess was performed by an earlier highwayman.

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’, hanged at York in 1685.