Editing Jonathan Wild (section)

{{Short description|18th century English criminal}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name              = Jonathan Wild
| image             = Jonathan Wild.jpg
| image_upright     = 
| alt               = Drawing of a man in common 18th century clothing, holding a stick
| image_caption     = Vignette of Wild from ''Old England'' by Charles Knight, p. 326
| birth_date        = 1682 or 1683
| birth_place       = [[Wolverhampton]], England
| death_date        = 24 May 1725 (aged 41–42)
| death_place       = [[Tyburn|Tyburn Tree Gallows]], England
| other_names       = The Great Corrupter
| education         = 
| alma_mater        = 
| years_active      = 
| employer          = [[Lord Mayor of London]], self-employed
| occupation        = Carpenter, buckle-maker, criminal gang leader, [[Fence (criminal)|fence]], thief, vigilante
| known_for         = [[Vigilantism]], [[larceny]], organized crime, social manipulation 
| title             = Thief-Taker Generall 
| predecessor       = Charles Hitchen
| successor         = Charles Hitchen 
| opponents         = [[Charles Hitchen]] 
| criminal_charge   = [[Theft]]
| conviction_penalty = [[Bloody Code|Death]] by [[hanging]]
| conviction_status = Publicly executed on 24 May 1725 
| motive            = Economic gain via thief-taking 
| partners          = Mary Milliner 
| country           = [[Kingdom of England|England]] 
| imprisoned        = [[Newgate Prison]]
}}
'''Jonathan Wild''', also spelled '''Wilde''' (1682 or 1683 – 24 May 1725), was an English [[thief-taker]] and a major figure in [[London]]'s [[organized crime|criminal underworld]], notable for operating on both sides of the law, posing as a public-spirited [[vigilante]] entitled the "Thief-Taker General". He simultaneously ran a significant criminal empire, and used his crimefighting role to [[gang warfare|remove rivals]] and [[money laundering|launder]] the proceeds of his own crimes.

Wild exploited a strong public demand for action during a major 18th-century [[wikt:crimewave|crime wave]] in the absence of any effective police force in London. As a powerful gang-leader himself, he became a master manipulator of legal systems, collecting the rewards offered for valuables which he had stolen himself, [[bribery|bribing]] prison guards to release his colleagues, and [[blackmail]]ing any who crossed him. Wild was consulted on crime by the government due to his apparently remarkable prowess in locating stolen items and those who had stolen them.

Wild was responsible for the arrest and execution of [[Jack Sheppard]], a petty thief and [[burglary|burglar]] who had won the public's affection as a lovable rogue. However, Wild's duplicity became known and his men began to give evidence against him. After a [[suicide attempt]], he was hanged at [[Tyburn]] before a massive crowd.

Since his death, Wild has been featured in novels, poems and plays, some of them noting parallels between Wild and the contemporaneous [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Robert Walpole|Walpole]], known as "''The Great Corrupter''".