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A highwayman rode a horse, and usually carried a pistol. A robber who had no horse was called a footpad .

Although not all highwaymen commanded their victims to "stand and deliver", or said "Your money or your life", they are often popularly associated with these famous phrases. This is notable in "Stand and Deliver", a hit by 1980s British pop group Adam and the Ants.

Famous highwaymen include:

• Dick Turpin
• Tom King
• Jerry Abershawe
• James MacLeane
• William Plunkett
• John Nevison (aka William Nevison, aka 'Swift Nick' or Swiftnicks)
• Claude DuvalClaude Duval ( 1643- January 21 1670) was a French-born gentleman highwayman in post-Restoration Britain. Duval was born in Domfront, Normandy, France in 1643 to a poor family. His origin and parentage is in dispute. At the age of 14 he was sent to Paris
• Captain Gallagher
• the fictitious MacHeath (aka ' Mack the KnifeMack the Knife originally Die Moritat von Mackie Messer was composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their Dreigroschenoper or, as it is known in English, Threepenny Opera''. The Threepenny Opera A moritat is a medieval version of the murd') originally in The Beggar's OperaThe Beggar's Opera is a comic farce opera written in 1728 by John Gay to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch, poking fun at the prevailing fashion in Italian opera as well as the social and political climate of the age. It established a new genre, the "ball by John GayJohn Gay ( 30 June, 1685 4 December, 1732) was an English poet and dramatist. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera ( 1728), set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peachum, became household na, but now more famous through the The Threepenny OperaThe Threepenny Opera Die Dreigroschenoper was a revolutionary piece of musical theatre written by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht in collaboration with the composer Kurt Weill in 1928. It directly challenges the audience by breaching the " fourth wall by Bertolt BrechtBertolt Brecht ( February 10, 1898 August 14, 1956) was an influential German dramatist, stage director, and poet of the 20th century. His life and career Brecht was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, studied medicine and worked briefly as an orderly in a hospita and Kurt WeillKurt Weill ( March 2, 1900 April 3, 1950) was a German composer. He was born in Dessau, Germany and died in New York. After growing up in a religious Jewish family in Germany, Weill fled Nazi Germany in March 1933. He was seen as a particular threat by th
• Neesy O'HaughanNaoise O'Haughan (also known as Neesy, Ness and Nessie) was a well-known highwayman in County Antrim, Northern Ireland in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He is said to have hidden in caves at the Hatchet Field on the Black Mountain north of Belfas

Well-known highwaymen's haunts included several places around London: Blackheath and nearby Shooter's Hill, Hounslow Heath, and Wimbledon and Barnes Commons.

The early years of the 19th century saw the gradual disappearance of the traditional highwayman. The introduction of organised city and county police forces (eg: London’s Bow Street Runners), and the resulting better law enforcement, was one factor. The enclosure of common land was another; combined with improvements to the roads themselves, this reduced the areas in which highwaymen could operate undetected. And banking reforms also cut the amounts of cash carried by road.

Poet Alfred Noyes made a highwayman the subject of one of his most well-known poems, aptly named "The Highwayman". Famous traditional songs about highwaymen include the 1840s broadsheet ballad " Whiskey in the Jar", and other lesser known titles such as "Bold Nevison", "Gilderoy", "MacPherson's Lament", "Newlyn Town" and "Brennan on the Moor".

• A circa 1960 "collegiate folk" group, which originated at Wesleyan University and had a hit in 1961 with "Michael Row the Boat Ashore". They have played reunion gigs as recently as 2002.
• A country supergroup of outlaw country musicians Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson, whose signature song was "The Highwayman", written by Jimmy Webb.

See also: Rapparees Bushranger