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Adam Worth | |
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Born | c. 1844 Germany |
Died | 8 January 1902 London, England | (aged 57–58)
Other names | Henry J. Raymond Edward Grey The Napoleon of Crime |
Occupation(s) | Clerk, soldier, thief, gambler, crime boss |
Criminal charge | Robbery |
Penalty | Seven years imprisonment |
Adam Worth (c. 1844 - 8 January 1902) was a crime boss and fraudster. His career in crime, stretching from the United States to Europe and southern Africa, included the infamous theft of Gainsborough's celebrated Portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, which he retained for 25 years. In London, he lived as a respected member of high society under the alias Henry Judson Raymond. Scotland Yard Detective Robert Anderson nicknamed him "the Napoleon of the criminal world" based on his short stature.[1] He is widely considered the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional criminal mastermind James Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes series.