Historedia
EuropeEvent

Execution of Jonathan Wild

When
1725
Where
Tyburn gallows
Episodes
1

Jonathan Wild, the fraudulent Thief-Taker General, was hanged at Tyburn in London on 24 May 1725. The execution drew a massive crowd and generated significant contemporary literary attention, including works by Daniel Defoe and Henry Fielding.

Episodes

  1. 24 May 1725 · Tyburn gallowsHanging at Tyburn

    Wild was executed by hanging at Tyburn on 24 May 1725, drawing a record crowd.

Background and detail

Background. Wild operated as a thief-taker in London during a period of rising organized crime and public demand for security. He exploited this environment to run a criminal empire, using his public role to remove rivals and launder proceeds from his own illicit activities.

Execution. On 24 May 1725, Wild was taken to the gallows at Tyburn, the principal execution site for London and Middlesex criminals. Daniel Defoe noted that the crowd was exceptionally large, with observers reporting a lack of celebration or commiseration for the condemned man.

People involved

Sources

  1. Jonathan Wild Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-01
  2. Tyburn Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-18

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.