William “Bill the Butcher” Poole was a larger-than-life figure in 19th century New York City. He led the fearsome Bowery Boys street gang, which allowed him to become one of the most influential figures in the criminal underworld and eventually the political establishment.
An engraving of William Poole. Image: Public domain.
His gang affiliation and opposition to Irish-Catholic street gangs led him to become a leader in the newly formed Know Nothing Party. The Know-Nothings would become one of the major national political parties in the 1850s.
Bill the Butcher died as he lived, which is to say violently. Years later, Daniel Day-Lewis portrayed a heavily fictionalized version of him in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. But Bill was already a legend.
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