The Life of David Haggart by himself
July 2025
At one time, the name of David Haggart (1801–1821) was infamous throughout the English-speaking world. A Scottish rogue, he was a regular pickpocket, burglar, and shoplifter haunting towns, fairs, and racecourses all over Scotland; and sometimes, when things got too hot for him in Scotland, in Ireland.
After he accidentally killed a turnkey in the Dumfries jail during an 1820 escape, and was eventually captured and condemned to death, between the trial and his execution he partly wrote, partly dictated this memoir of his criminal history, which includes George Combe’s phrenological notes and Haggart’s own comments as appendices.
The book also includes a glossary of criminal slang so readers can understand the “Scottish thieves’ cant” they are reading, and illustrations from various sources, including Combe’s sketch of Haggart’s skull.
After he accidentally killed a turnkey in the Dumfries jail during an 1820 escape, and was eventually captured and condemned to death, between the trial and his execution he partly wrote, partly dictated this memoir of his criminal history, which includes George Combe’s phrenological notes and Haggart’s own comments as appendices.
The book also includes a glossary of criminal slang so readers can understand the “Scottish thieves’ cant” they are reading, and illustrations from various sources, including Combe’s sketch of Haggart’s skull.