William "Captain" Kidd (1645-May 23, 1701) was a notorious pirate.
Born in Greenock, Scotland. He later emigrated to America settling in
New York. There he married Sarah Bradley Cox Oort. They had two
daughters: Elizabeth and Sarah Kidd. The marriage brought to Kidd a
considerable amount of property and before becoming a pirate he lived
as a respectable merchant.

During a trading trip to England, Kidd was offered a privateer's
commission for the purpose of attacking pirates. Four-fifths of the
cost for the venture was paid for by noble lords, who were amongst the
most powerful men in the kingdom; the Earl of Orford, The Baron of
Romney, the Duke of Shrewsbury and Sir John Somers. Kidd and an
acquaintance, Colonel Robert Livingston paid for the rest. Kidd had to
sell his ship the Antigua to raise funds.

The new ship, the Adventure Galley, was well suited to the task of
catching pirates; it was equipped with 36 cannons and 70 men. However
Kidd's enterprise was not a success. He became desperate to cover
the costs of his enterprise and under pressure from his men he started
taking any vessels which were not English. Legally he was only allowed
to take French and pirate vessels. As the voyage progressed Kidd's
actions became increasingly more like those of a pirate than an agent
of the King.
