08/31/2026
On this day in 1798: America experienced what is widely considered the first major bank robbery in United States history—and the culprit made one spectacular mistake that eventually helped bring him down.
On August 31, 1798, more than $162,000 was stolen from the Bank of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. At the time, that was an enormous fortune, equivalent to millions of dollars today.
The robbery was an inside job. Bank employee Isaac Davis was involved in stealing the money, taking advantage of his knowledge of the bank's operations. The crime initially appeared to be remarkably successful, and Davis managed to disappear with the stolen fortune.
But then came the mistake.
Rather than keeping a low profile, Davis began depositing some of the stolen money into his account at the very bank he had robbed. Investigators eventually noticed the suspicious deposits, and the evidence quickly pointed back to him.
Davis was arrested and eventually confessed to the crime. He was convicted and sentenced to prison, although his punishment was relatively light compared with the enormous amount of money he had stolen.
The robbery became an early example of both the vulnerability of America's young financial institutions and one of the oldest rules of criminal investigation: don't leave a trail leading straight back to yourself.
More than two centuries later, the story of America's first bank robbery is remembered not only for the staggering amount stolen, but for the almost unbelievable blunder that helped solve it.