Historical Figures I Admire
Ben Hall (9 May 1837 – 5 May 1865) was an Australian bushranger and leading member of the Gardiner–Hall gang.
He and his associates carried out many raids across New South Wales, from Bathurst to Forbes, south to Gundagai and east to Goulburn.
Unlike many bushrangers of the era, Hall was not directly responsible for any deaths, although several of his associates were.
He was shot dead by police in May 1865 at Goobang Creek.
The police claimed that they were acting under the protection of the Felons Apprehension Act 1865, which allowed any bushranger who had been specifically named under the terms of the Act to be shot, and killed by any person at any time without warning.
At the time of Hall's death, the Act had not yet come into force, resulting in controversy over the legality of his killing.
Ben Hall, photographed in 1863 (from the New South Wales State Library).
Ben Hall, bushranger, carte de visite ca. 1863
Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847 – April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie" area of Missouri, James and his family maintained strong Southern sympathies.
He and his brother Frank James joined pro-Confederate guerrillas known as "bushwhackers" operating in Missouri and Kansas during the American Civil War.
As followers of William Quantrill and "Bloody Bill" Anderson, they were accused of committing atrocities against Union soldiers and civilian abolitionists, including the Centralia Massacre in 1864.
Source: Wikipedia
