This is a chronological list of highwaymen, land pirates, mail coach robbers, road agents, stagecoach robbers, and bushrangers active, along trails, roads, and highways, in Europe, North America, South America, Australia, Asia, and Africa, from ancient times to the 20th century, arranged by continent and country.
List
Europe
| Name | Life | Years active | Country of origin | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Abershawe | 1773–1795 | United Kingdom | Last executed highwayman to have his body put on public display in England. | ||
| James Aitken | 1752–1777 | United Kingdom | A mercenary who committed acts of sabotage in Royal Navy naval dockyards during the American Revolutionary War in 1776–77. | ||
| John Austin | d. 1783 | United Kingdom | Last person to be publicly hanged from the gallows at Tyburn Tree, London. | ||
| Bauptista Landa Tretatxu | 1716–1761 | Basque Country | A bandit whose story has passed into Basque oral literature. He died in Valladolid, in prison, in unknown circumstances. | ||
| Joseph "Blueskin" Blake | 1700–1724 | United Kingdom | Former associate of Jack Sheppard and Jonathan Wild. | ||
| Willy Brennan | d. 1804 | Ireland | |||
| Mary Bryant | 1765–? | United Kingdom | |||
| Gaspard Bouis | 1757–1781 | France | Renowned in Provence for his donations to the poor. | ||
| Isaac Darkin | 1740–1761 | United Kingdom | |||
| George Davenport | 1758–1797 | United Kingdom | "The Leicester Highwayman". | ||
| William Davies | 1627–1689 | United Kingdom | Robbed the rich for 40 years, otherwise known as the "Golden Farmer." | ||
| Tom, Dick and Harry Dunsdon | d. 1784 | United Kingdom | |||
| Claude Duval | 1643–1670 | United Kingdom | He was known as 'The Gallant Highwayman'. | ||
| Richard Ferguson | d. 1800 | United Kingdom | An associate of Jerry Abershawe, known as "Galloping Dick". | ||
| Lady Katherine Ferrers | 1634–1660 | United Kingdom | She was believed to be the "Wicked Lady". | ||
| Captain Gallagher | d. 1818 | Ireland | |||
| Louis Dominique Garthausen | 1693–1721 | France | He was known as "Cartouche" or "Bourguignon" executed on the breaking wheel in Paris. | ||
| William Fletcher | c.1691-1729 | United Kingdom | Aka. 'Black-Hearted Bill', because of his vicious, bloodthirsty nature, he robbed and murdered two travelers near to Nottingham in 1729. Pursued by local militia, he met his end in the caves under Ye Olde Salutation Inn in Nottingham, where his ghost is said to still haunt. Buried in unconsecrated ground with no marker or gravestone. | ||
| Rufus Goodlove | 1688–1731 | United Kingdom | He robbed the houses of rich Oxford merchants while they were away in London, reputedly by seducing their wives. Hanged in Banbury after being arrested in Cropredy. | ||
| James Hind | 1616–1652 | United Kingdom | |||
| Captain Will Hollyday | d. 1697 | United Kingdom | Captain of the Ragged Regiment of the Black Guards; hung the young Viscount Stafford | ||
| Juraj Jánošík | 1688–1713 | Slovakia | Betyár who became legendary in Slovak, Polish, and Czech cultures. | ||
| Humphrey Kynaston | d. 1534 | United Kingdom | |||
| George Lyon | 1761–1815 | United Kingdom | the last known highwayman to be hanged in Lancashire, England. | ||
| James MacLaine | 1724–1750 | United Kingdom | |||
| Louis Mandrin | 1725–1755 | France | |||
| John Nevison | 1639–1684 | United Kingdom | known as "Swift Nick" | ||
| Neesy O'Haughan | 1691–1720 | Ireland | |||
| Nicolas Jacques Pelletier | 1756–1792 | France | He was the first person executed by guillotine during the French Revolution. | ||
| William Plunkett | d. 1750 | United Kingdom | |||
| John Rann | 1750–1774 | United Kingdom | |||
| Sándor Rózsa | 1813–1878 | Hungary | |||
| Jóska Savanyú | Hungary | ||||
| Jack Shrimpton | 1671-1713 | United Kingdom | Once a soldier in the 4th Regiment of Horse commanded by Major-General Cornelius Wood, an officer in John Churchill's army; Shrimpton was hanged at Gallows Acre, at the top of St. Michael's Hill in Bristol on 4 September 1713. | ||
| Ferdinando Shrimpton | 1700-1730 | United Kingdom | Son of Jack Shrimpton, and like his father he was also a soldier, Shrimpton was an associate of Robert Drummond, the Sunderland Highwayman; Shrimpton was hanged at Tyburn in Middlesex on 17 February 1730. | ||
| Robert Snooks | 1761–1802 | United Kingdom | The last man to be executed in England for highway robbery. | ||
| Jóska Sobri | 1810–1837 | Hungary | |||
| William Spiggot | 1691–1721 | United Kingdom | A hanged highwayman and gang leader who suffered the press ordeal for not pleading. | ||
| Philip Twysden | 1714–1752 | United Kingdom | The Bishop of Raphoe. | ||
| Richard 'Dick' Turpin | 1705-1739 | United Kingdom | He was also known by his alias 'John Palmer'. | ||
| Márton Vidróczki | Hungary | ||||
| James Whitney | 1660-1693 | United Kingdom | Known by contemporaries as the Dandy Highwayman. |
North America
| Name | Life | Years active | Country of origin | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Alston | 1765–1804 | United States | highwayman, counterfeiter, and river pirate, alias James May, who was believed to be an associate of Samuel Mason and the Harpe Brothers. | ||
| John Alexander | d. 1818 | United States | lower Mississippi River/Natchez Trace highwaymen associated with Joseph and Lewis Hare. | ||
| Robert H. "Three-Fingered" Birch | 1827–1866 | United States | a member of the infamous, 1830s-1840s, "Banditti of the Prairie", who committed highway robbery, in northern/central Illinois and an accomplice in the 1845 torture-murder of Colonel George Davenport. | ||
| Captain Thunderbolt | United States | an associate of Michael Martin, "Captain Lightfoot." | |||
| Doan Brothers | United States | Aaron, Levi, Mahlon, and Joseph Doan and cousin, Abraham were Loyalist highwaymen who operated in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York during the American Revolutionary War. | |||
| James Ford | d. 1833 | United States | American civic leader and business owner in western Kentucky and southern Illinois, who secretly was the leader of a gang of highwaymen and river pirates known as the "Ford's Ferry Gang." | ||
| William Goings | United States | Leader of highwaymen called, the "Goings Gang," from 1816-1820, along the Vincennes-St. Louis Trace, a frontier highway in southern Illinois, where Goings owned and ran a number of roadside taverns to rob and murder travelers. Samuel Young was an associate in the Goings Gang. | |||
| Joseph and Lewis Hare | d. 1818 | United States | lower Mississippi River/Natchez Trace highwaymen and Baltimore, mail coach robbers. | ||
| Micajah and Wiley Harpe | 1768-1799 (Micajah) 1770-1804 (Wiley) |
United States | America's first known serial killers, were Loyalists, in the American Revolution, who preyed on travelers along the frontier highways of Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Mississippi. They were associates of Samuel Mason and Peter Alston. | ||
| Michael Martin | d. 1821 | United States | last of the New England highwayman, robbed in Ireland and Massachusetts and was the legendary "Captain Lightfoot." | ||
| Samuel Mason | 1739–1803 | United States | Samuel Mason (1739–1803), ran a gang of highwaymen along the Natchez Trace, a gang of river pirates on the Mississippi River and at Cave-In-Rock on the Ohio River, and was an associate of the Harpe Brothers and Peter Alston. | ||
| Isaiah L. Potts | 1784–? | United States | a southern Illinois tavern owner who, allegedly, was the leader of a gang of highwaymen known as the "Potts Hill Gang," along a frontier highway, near Cave-In-Rock and was an associate of James Ford. | ||
| David Lewis | 1790-1820 | 1806-1820 | United States | David Lewis A Pennsylvania counterfeiter and road agent that hid out in the Doubling Gap area of Central Pennsylvania. The gang had as many as 30 men. Captured in Driftwood, Pa. |
Australia
Main article: BushrangersAsia
| Name | Life | Years active | Country of origin | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker | 1825–1874 | 1852–1888 | India | fought against oppression of lower castes by the upper castes in Kerala |
| Ithikkara Pakki | 19th century | India | Indian Muslim outlaw active in the Travancore Kingdom during the 19th century | |
| Jambulingam Nadar | d. 1923 | –1923 | India | brigand active in the southern region of the Madras Presidency during the early 20th century, shot to death by police. |
| Kayamkulam Kochunni | 1818–1859 | –1859 | India | a heroic outlaw known as the Robin Hood of Kayamkulam who lived during the early 19th century in Travancore (present-day Kerala). His stories are often associated with his friend and fellow outlaw Ithikkara Pakki. |
| Papadu | d. 1710 | 1702–1709 | India | a highwayman and bandit of early-18th century India who rose from humble beginnings to become a folklore hero. |
Further reading
- Ash, Russell (1970). Highwaymen, Shire Publications, ISBN 978-0-85263-101-0; revised edition (1994) ISBN 978-0-7478-0260-0
- Brandon, David (2004). Stand and Deliver! A History of Highway Robbery, Sutton Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7509-3528-9
- Dunford, Stephen (2000). The Irish Highwaymen, Merlin Publishing, ISBN 1-903582-02-4
- Haining, Peter (1991). The English Highwayman: A Legend Unmasked, Robert Hale, ISBN 978-0-7090-4426-0
- Harper, Charles George (1908). Half-hours with the Highwaymen: picturesque biographies and traditions of the "knights of the road", Chapman & Hall. Online edition, via Internet Archive.
- Pringle, Patrick (1951). Stand and Deliver: The Story of the Highwaymen, Museum Press, ASIN B0000CHVTK
- Seal, Graham (1996). The Outlaw Legend: a cultural tradition in Britain, America and Australia, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-55317-2 (hbk), ISBN 0-521-55740-2 (pbk)