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William Thompson (confidence Man)
William Thompson was an American criminal and con artist whose deceptions probably caused the term ''confidence man'' to be coined. Operating in New York City in the late 1840s, a genteelly dressed Thompson would approach an upper-class mark, pretending they knew each other, and begin a brief conversation. After initially gaining the mark's trust, Thompson would ask whether he had the confidence to lend Thompson his watch. Upon taking the watch, Thompson would depart, never returning the watch. Thompson used various aliases including Samuel Thompson, James Thompson, Samuel Thomas, Samuel Powel, Samuel Williams, William Evans, Samuel Willis, William Davis, and William Brown. Thompson was arrested and incarcerated in The Tombs in 1849. The ''New York Herald'', recalling his explicit appeals to the victim's "confidence", dubbed him the "confidence man". The Thompson case may have inspired Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – Sept ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Confidence Trick
A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have defined confidence tricks as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men') at the expense of their victims (the ' marks')". Terminology Other terms for "scam" include confidence trick, con, con game, confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, stratagem, finesse, grift, hustle, bunko, bunco, swindle, flimflam, gaffle, and bamboozle. The perpetrator is often referred to as a scammer, confidence man, con man, con artist, grifter, hustler, or swindler. The intended victims are known as marks, suckers, stooges, mugs, rubes, or gulls (from the word ''gullible''). When accomplices are e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark (victim)
A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their Trust (emotion), trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, Moral responsibility, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have defined confidence tricks as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men') at the expense of their victims (the 'Traveling carnival#Games, marks')". Terminology Other terms for "scam" include confidence trick, con, con game, confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, stratagem, finesse, grift, hustle, bunko, bunco, swindle, flimflam, gaffle, and bamboozle. The perpetrator is often referred to as a scammer, confidence man, con man, con artist, wikt:grifter, grifter, hustler, or swindler. The intended victims are known as marks, suckers, stooges, mugs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tombs
The Tombs was the colloquial name for Manhattan Detention Complex (formerly the Bernard B. Kerik Complex during 2001–2006), a former municipal jail at 125 White Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It was also the nickname for three previous city-run jails in the former Five Points, Manhattan, Five Points neighborhood of lower Manhattan, in an area now known as the Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center. The original Tombs was officially known as the Halls of Justice, built in 1838 in an Egyptian Revival architectural style, similar in form to a mastaba. It may have been this style that caused it to be called "the Tombs", although other theories exist. It was built as a replacement for the Colonial-era Bridewell (New York City jail), Bridewell Prison located in City Hall Park, built in 1735. The new structure incorporated material from the demolished Bridewell to save money. The four buildings known as The Tombs were: * 1838–1902, New York City Halls of Justice and Hous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Herald
The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. History The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett Sr., on May 6, 1835. The ''Herald'' distinguished itself from the partisan papers of the day by the policy that it published in its first issue: "We shall support no party—be the agent of no faction or coterie, and we care nothing for any election, or any candidate from president down to constable," although it was typically considered sympathetic to the Jacksonian Democratic Party and later, President John Tyler. Bennett pioneered the "extra" edition during the ''Heralds sensational coverage of the Robinson–Jewett murder case. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the United States. In 1861 it circulated 84,000 copies and called i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herman Melville
Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and ''Billy Budd, Billy Budd, Sailor'', a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death Melville was not well known to the public, but 1919, the centennial of his birth, was the starting point of a #Melville revival and Melville studies, Melville revival. ''Moby-Dick'' would eventually be considered one of the great American novels. Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on the merchant ship ''St. Lawrence'' and then, in 1841, on the whaler ''Acushnet'', but he jumped ship in the Marquesas I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Confidence-Man
''The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade'', first published in New York on April Fool's Day 1857, is the ninth and final novel by American writer Herman Melville. The work was published on the exact day of the novel's setting. Centered on the title character, ''The Confidence-Man'' portrays a group of steamboat passengers travelling on the Mississippi River toward New Orleans. The narrative follows a succession of confidence men who, as suggested by the book's title, may be the same man in disguise. The confidence man uses various methods of persuasion to sell patent medicine, encourage speculation in fraudulent business, donate to non-existent charities, and other cons. In the latter part of the narrative, the confidence man discusses friendship and other topics with the other passengers. Interspersed with the dialogues are other texts: essay, short story, ode, and others. These additional texts inspire the reader to consider the difference between fiction and reality. When the nove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Mason University
George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father of the United States. The university was founded in 1949 as a northern branch of the University of Virginia. It became an independent university in 1972, and it has since grown into the largest public university by student enrollment in Virginia. It has expanded into a residential college for traditional students while maintaining its historic Commuting, commuter student-inclusive environment at both Undergraduate education, undergraduate and Postgraduate education, post-graduate levels, with an emphasis on combining modern professional education with a traditional Liberal arts education, liberal arts curriculum. The university operates four campuses; the flagship campus is in Fairfax, Virginia. Its other three campuses are in Arlington ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Year Of Birth Missing
A year is a unit of time based on how long it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. In scientific use, the tropical year (approximately 365 solar days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45 seconds) and the sidereal year (about 20 minutes longer) are more exact. The modern calendar year, as reckoned according to the Gregorian calendar, approximates the tropical year by using a system of leap years. The term 'year' is also used to indicate other periods of roughly similar duration, such as the lunar year (a roughly 354-day cycle of twelve of the Moon's phasessee lunar calendar), as well as periods loosely associated with the calendar or astronomical year, such as the seasonal year, the fiscal year, the academic year, etc. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by changes in weather, the hours of daylight, and, consequently, vegetation and soil fertility. In temperate and subpolar regions around the planet, four seasons are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Male Criminals
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label that was previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
