About this episode

This episode discusses America's first bank robbery, the wrongful accusation of Patrick Lyon, and the true criminal Isaac Davis.

The Bank of Pennsylvania opened to discover that an astonishing $162,821 (around $3 million today) had vanished without a trace on 31st August, 1798. With no smashed windows, and no blown-apart safes, suspicion naturally fell on someone with inside knowledge. But Suspect #1 in America’s first bank robbery - Patrick Lyon, a highly respected blacksmith who had recently worked on the vault’s locks - was, in fact, completely innocent. He knew who he thought the culprits were, but his decision to head to the authorities and inform them turned out to be a tragic error... In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the yellow fever epidemic haunted Lyon throughout; consider the naivety of the true criminal, Isaac Davis, who attempted to deposit the stolen money into his own account; and reveal how Lyon used his eventual compensation to settle some scores… Further Reading: • ‘A Foolish Decision Made By America's First Bank Robber Led To His Confession’ (Grunge, 2022): https://www.grunge.com/892487/a-foolish-decision-made-by-americas-first-bank-robber-led-to-his-confession/ • ’The first major bank robbery in America happened in colonial Philadelphia and the wrong man was blamed’…

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