Often unfairly compared to predecessor Claude Du Val, English highwayman Dick Turpin was nothing like his suave and debonair French counterpart. In fact, he roamed 18th century Britain ruthlessly terrorizing female occupants of isolated farmhouses into handing over their valuables. Several studies and books have set out to dispel the myth that Turpin was as romantic a figure as Du Val, explaining that Turpin was capable of extreme violence and spent much of his time with rapists and murderers. In the end, he was nabbed on the charge of stealing a horse and was hanged in 1739 — but not before he rode through the streets of York in an open cart, bowing to gathered crowds.