Jimmy Hope

Who was Jimmy Hope?

James "Old Jimmy" Hope was a 19th-century American burglar, bank robber and underworld figure in Philadelphia and later New York City. He was considered one of the most successful and sought after bank burglars in the United States during his lifetime as well as a skilled escape artist for his repeated breakouts from Auburn State Prison in New York.

A pioneering career criminal and safe-cracker, he planned and took part in many of the major robberies of the post-American Civil War era including those of the Kensington Savings Bank and, in partnership with Ned Lyons, the Ocean Bank and Philadelphia Navy Yard. His most infamous crime, however, was the 1878 robbery of the Manhattan Savings Institution with the George Leslie Gang.