6. Pirate Henry Avery was the subject of the first recorded worldwide manhunt.
Henry Avery, also known as John Avery or “Long Ben” was one of the most renowned British pirates of the seventeenth century. Avery’s life of piracy began in 1691 after a stint in the Royal Navy. Within only four years, he was famous and became particularly notorious in 1695 when he attacked 25 ships of the Indian Mughal government, capturing loot worth around 78 million dollars today. The Indian government were outraged and retaliated by closing some of the English East India Company’s trading stations- provoking the company to offer a hefty bounty for Avery’s capture. And so began the first recorded worldwide manhunt. However, despite the $130,070 reward, Avery was never captured and disappeared from history in 1696.