Street gangs have their unsavory roots in the 19th century. The first documented street gang in the United States, for example, was in 1825, with the emergence of the violent Forty Thieves in Lower Manhattan. Meanwhile across the Atlantic, the Peaky Blinders were slicing their way through the streets of Birmingham. In fact, the 1800s witnessed the establishment of some truly notorious gangs, many of which provided the foundation for a number of equally ruthless criminal groups in the 20th century. So, who was feared the most?
Click through and learn more about history's cruelest street gangs.