Black Bart

Bartholomew Roberts (born John Roberts on May 17, 1682 - died February 10, 1722) was a Welsh pirate who raided shipping off the Americas and West Africa between 1719 and 1722. He was the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy, capturing far more ships than some of the best-known pirates of this era such as Blackbeard or Captain Kidd.[1] He is estimated to have captured over 470 vessels.[2] He is also known as Black Bart (Welsh: Barti Ddu), but this name was never used in his lifetime,[3] and also risks confusion with Black Bart of the American West.

Black Bart was one of the most unusual stagecoach robbers in American history. There is no record of Bart every firing a shot in any of his robberies. Bart, however, was not so lucky. During one robbery a bullet shot at him grazed his head and left a scar. In his final robbery he was shot in the hand. When Bart was arrested he was using the name Charles E. Bolton, the name under which he had been living for years in San Francisco. When he was booked, he gave his name as T. Z. Spalding. However, Bart's real name was Charles E. Boles.