Mary Read (1685 – 28 April 1721), also known as Mark Read, was an English pirate. She and Anne Bonny are two famous female pirates from 18th century, and among the few women known to have been convicted of piracy at the height of the “Golden Age of Piracy”. Read was born in England in 1685. She began dressing as a boy at a young age, at first at her mother’s urging in order to receive inheritance money and then as a teenager in order to join the British military. She then married, and upon her husband’s death moved to the West Indies around 1715. In 1720 she met Jack Rackham and joined his crew, dressing as a man alongside Anne Bonny. Her time as a pirate was successful but short lived, as she, Bonny, and Rackham were arrested in November 1720. Although Rackham was swiftly executed, both Read and Bonny claimed to be pregnant and received delayed sentences. Read died of a fever in April 1721, likely due to complications from the pregnancy.
Appearance List Literature: A General History of the Pyrates (1724) by Daniel Defoe. Comics: Real Life Comics #44, Crimes by Women #7, 13, Captain Kidd #24, True Pirate Comics #7.
Description Mary Read (1685 – 28 April 1721), also known as Mark Read, was an English pirate. She and Anne Bonny are two famous female pirates from 18th century, and among the few women known to have been convicted of piracy at the height of the “Golden Age of Piracy”. Read was born in England in 1685. She began dressing as a boy at a young age, at first at her mother’s urging in order to receive inheritance money and then as a teenager in order to join the British military. She then married, and upon her husband’s death moved to the West Indies around 1715. In 1720 she met Jack Rackham and joined his crew, dressing as a man alongside Anne Bonny. Her time as a pirate was successful but short lived, as she, Bonny, and Rackham were arrested in November 1720. Although Rackham was swiftly executed, both Read and Bonny claimed to be pregnant and received delayed sentences. Read died of a fever in April 1721, likely due to complications from the pregnancy.
