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They hanged him twice. The first rope broke, sending William Kidd crashing into
1701 Event

May 23

Captain Kidd Hanged for Piracy: The Rope Breaks, They Hang Him Again

They hanged him twice. The first rope broke, sending William Kidd crashing into the mud below the gallows at Execution Dock. They pulled him back up and tried again. This time it held. The treasure hunter turned pirate had killed his own gunner, William Moore, with a wooden bucket during an argument. The irony: Kidd insisted he was innocent, that he'd only attacked French ships as his privateer commission allowed. His tarred corpse hung in a cage over the Thames for three years. The Crown kept all his treasure.

May 23, 1701

325 years ago

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