Though his exact birth date is unknown, Jonathan Wild was born in Wolverhampton in either 1682 or 1683 – although he was also alleged to have been born in the nearby 展开

On 15 February, Wild and Arnold were arrested for the jailbreak. Wild was placed in Newgate, where he continued to attempt to run his … 展开

• In 1969, James Clavell's screenplay for the film Where's Jack? told the story of Jack Shepherd (Tommy Steele) with Wild (Stanley Baker) … 展开

Crime had risen dramatically in London beginning in 1680, and property crime, in particular, rose sharply as London grew in importance as a commercial hub. In 1712 Charles Hitchen, … 展开

It is believed that Wild's method of illegally amassing riches while appearing to be on the side of the law was ingenious. He ran a gang of thieves, kept the … 展开

By 1724, London political life was experiencing a crisis of public confidence. The South Sea Bubble had burst four years earlier, and the … 展开

Jonathan Wild is famous today not so much for setting the example for organised crime as for the uses satirists made of his story. When he was hanged, the papers were filled with accounts … 展开