Kidd

Kidd, William, a noted pirate, was born about 1658 at Greenock, and, after having acquired considerable experience in the East Indies, was pitched upon by a committee of noblemen and others to command an expedition, in the Adventure galley, against the pirates in those seas, with a commission under the Great Seal. Instead of doing his business, Kidd himself turned pirate, and went to the West Indies, where he committed many depredations. He was at last secured by the Earl of Bellamont, Governor of New England, one of his original employers, and was sent to England, where, after trial at the Old Bailey, he was, with several of his accomplices, executed and hung in chains on the banks of the Thames in 1701. What he did with his immense spoils has never yet been satisfactorily explained; but the popular belief is that he buried them, and that they still lie concealed.