death_date children conviction cause birth_date death_place image_size conviction_penalty charge spouse name occupation image_name birth_place alias parents image_caption article_title birth_name image_alt
7 -rrb- & nbsp ; april 1739 -lrb- aged 33 one -lrb- uncertain -rrb- guilty hanging bap . 21 september 1705 knavesmire , york 200px sentenced to death horse theft elizabeth millington richard `` dick '' turpin butcher highwayman , murderer , poacher , burglar , horse thief , dick turpin jumping hornsey tollgate.jpg hempstead , essex john palmer john turpin mary elizabeth parmenter as rookwood '' imagined in william harrison ainsworth 's novel '' dick turpin
 richard turpin a jumping a wooden gate . he is wearing a wide-brimmed monochrome hat , coat , trousers , and long boots . illustration his left hand holds the reins , in his right of hand is a pistol . a man stands in the a near distance , in front of a toll booth , man with a shocked expression on his face . obscured by on the gate , a small dog watches proceedings . horseback ,
dick turpin

richard `` dick '' turpin -lrb- bap .
1705 -- 7 april 1739 -rrb- was an english highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in york for horse theft .
turpin may have followed his father 's trade as a butcher early in life , but , by the early 1730s , he had joined a gang of deer thieves and , later , became a poacher , burglar , horse thief and killer .
he is also known for a fictional overnight ride from london to york on his horse black bess , a story that was made famous by the victorian novelist william harrison ainsworth almost 100 years after turpin 's death .
turpin 's involvement in the crime for which he is most closely associated -- highway robbery -- followed the arrest of the other members of his gang in 1735 .
he then disappeared from public view towards the end of that year , only to resurface in 1737 with two new accomplices , one of whom he may have accidentally shot and killed .
turpin fled from the scene and shortly afterwards killed a man who attempted his capture .
later that year , he moved to yorkshire and assumed the alias of john palmer .
while he was staying at an inn , local magistrates became suspicious of `` palmer '' and made enquiries as to how he funded his lifestyle .
suspected of being a horse thief , `` palmer '' was imprisoned in york castle , to be tried at the next assizes .
turpin 's true identity was revealed by a letter he wrote to his brother-in-law from his prison cell , which fell into the hands of the authorities .
on 22 march 1739 , turpin was found guilty on two charges of horse theft and sentenced to death ; he was executed on 7 april 1739 .
turpin became the subject of legend after his execution , romanticised as dashing and heroic in english ballads and popular theatre of the 18th and 19th centuries and in film and television of the 20th century .
