Isaac "Ikey" Solomon (1787? – 1850) was a British criminal who acted as a receiver of stolen property. His well-publicised crimes, escape from arrest, recapture and trial led to his transportation to the Australian penal colony of Van Diemen's Land (now known as Tasmania). He is widely regarded as the model for the character Fagin in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist. Early life and marriage Solomon was born into a Jewish family in Houndsditch, in the East End of London. He was one of nine children. His father, Henry Solomon, was a fence and introduced him to the criminal trade. Henry Solomon also worked in various places in London and once remarked "I have worked for every factory in London". Little is known about Solomon's mother except that she looked after her husband well into his old age. Solomon married Ann (or Hannah) Julian on 7 January 1807 in the Great Synagogue, Duke's Place, London. Ann was the daughter of Moses Julian, coachmaster, of Aldgate. Criminal life Solomon first had a shop in Brighton, but later opened what was ostensibly a jeweller's shop in Bell Lane, London, in the vicinity of Petticoat Lane. (This business has also been described as a pawn shop.) Solomon used the shop to carry on business as a receiver of stolen goods, known as a fence, becoming one of the most active Londoners in the "trade". On 17 April 1810, Solomon and a man named Joel Joseph were caught stealing a pocket book (valued at 4 shillings) and £40 in bank notes from Thomas Dodd outside Westminster Hall (the site of Parliament) where a large crowd had gathered for a public meeting. Police chased the pair and caught them inside the Hall. Joseph attempted to get rid of the evidence by eating the bank notes while Solomon tried to ditch the notebook. Both were arrested and tried at the Old Bailey during the June Sessions 1810 and found guilty of stealing, a felony. Solomon, just 23 at the time, was sentenced to penal transportation, to spend the rest of his days in Australia. However, for reasons that are no longer clear, he remained in England, imprisoned in the prison hulk Zetland for four years, before being released in error or escaping. Solomon returned to London in about 1818 and set up as a fence and pawn broker. He continued until being arrested again on 25