Peter the Painter
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Peter the Painter, the alias of Peter Piaktow (or Piatkov), was the leader of a gang of Latvian anarchist criminals in the early 20th Century. After fighting in and escaping the Sidney Street Siege in 1911, he became an anti-hero in London's East End. He was never caught. There is some question of whether or not he actually ever existed.
The type of gun he allegedly used in the siege, a pistol that converts into a rifle, was also sometimes called a Peter the Painter in his honour.
A new social housing development (2006) on Sidney Street has been called Painter House, a reference to Piaktow.
