Carpenter, buckle-maker, criminal gang leader, fence, thief, vigilante
Employer(s)
Lord Mayor of London, self-employed
Known for
Vigilantism, larceny, organized crime, social manipulation
Title
Thief-Taker General
Predecessor
Charles Hitchen
Successor
Charles Hitchen
Opponent
Charles Hitchen
Criminal status
Publicly executed on 24 May 1725
Motive
Economic gain via thief-taking
Conviction(s)
Corruption
Criminal charge
Corruption
Penalty
Death by hanging
Partner(s)
Mary Milliner
Details
Country
England
Imprisoned at
Newgate Prison
Jonathan Wild, also spelled Wilde (1682 or 1683 – 24 May 1725), was a London underworld figure notable for operating on both sides of the law, posing as a public-spirited vigilante entitled the "Thief-Taker General". He simultaneously ran a significant criminal empire, and used his crimefighting role to remove rivals and launder the proceeds of his own crimes.
Wild exploited a strong public demand for action during a major 18th-century crime wave in the absence of any effective police force in London. As a powerful gang-leader himself, he became a master manipulator of legal systems, collecting the rewards offered for valuables which he had stolen himself, bribing prison guards to release his colleagues, and blackmailing any who crossed him. Wild was consulted on crime by the government due to his apparently remarkable prowess in locating stolen items and those who had stolen them.
Wild was responsible for the arrest and execution of Jack Sheppard, a petty thief and burglar who had won the public's affection as a lovable rogue. However, Wild's duplicity became known and his men began to give evidence against him. After a suicide attempt, he was hanged at Tyburn before a massive crowd.
Since his death, Wild has been featured in novels, poems and plays, some of them noting parallels between Wild and the contemporaneous Prime Minister Walpole, known as "The Great Corrupter".
JonathanWild, also spelled Wilde (1682 or 1683 – 24 May 1725), was a London underworld figure notable for operating on both sides of the law, posing...
Abraham Adams – 1742 The Life and Death of JonathanWild, the Great – 1743, ironic treatment of JonathanWild, a notorious underworld figure of the time...
sodomy offences. Alongside his former assistant and then a major rival JonathanWild, against whom he later published a pamphlet (The Regulator) and contributed...
emerged into the world of thievery, he learned about the famous JonathanWild. Jonathan ran a business of thievery in London, though he disguised himself...
and prosper" is attributed to the 18th-century organized crime figure JonathanWild in his 1725 biography written by "H.D.", possibly a pseudonym for Daniel...
General" JonathanWild to control Sheppard, and injuries suffered by Wild at the hands of Sheppard's colleague Joseph "Blueskin" Blake, resulted in Wild's demise...
4 July 2021. Wild, Jonathan (October 2005). Hearts Tarts and Rascals. Great Northern Books. pp. 10–11. ISBN 9780955091407. Wild, Jonathan (October 2005)...
individuals. In the 1720s and 30s thief-takers like Charles Hitchen and JonathanWild stimulated the Societies' activities. The peak of this wave of prosecution...
Jonathan Taylor Thomas (né Weiss; born September 8, 1981) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Randy Taylor on Home Improvement...
"The Wild (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. "The Wild Reviews". Metacritic. "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Rosenbaum, Jonathan (April...
Wild Target is a 2010 black comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn and starring Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, Rupert Grint, Eileen Atkins, Martin Freeman, and...
Jonathan Malen is a Canadian actor, best known for providing the voice for Jimmy Z in Wild Kratts. Jonathan Malen and actress Lauren Collins became engaged...
The wild boar (Sus scrofa), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and...
scientist) (John Paul Wild, born 1923), Australian radio astronomer Frank Wild (John Wild, 1873–1939), Antarctic explorer JonathanWild (1682–1725), London...
new levels. John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Henry Fielding's novel JonathanWild are only two examples of sharpers as heroes, in these cases, to provide...
criminals and those who fed off of the criminals. Major crime lords like JonathanWild invented new schemes for stealing, and newspapers were eager to report...
to the criminal JonathanWild as, for example, John Gay did in his farcical Beggar's Opera. Walpole's other enemies included Jonathan Swift,[page needed]...
of prosecution to keep offenders in thrall". Some of them, such as JonathanWild, became infamous at the time for staging robberies in order to receive...
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