John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger was an American bank robber in the Depression-era United States. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations. Dillinger escaped from jail twice; he was also charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer who shot Dillinger in his bullet-proof vest during a shootout, prompting him to return fire. It was Dillinger's only homicide charge. More
In 1933–34, seen in retrospect as the heyday of the Depression-era outlaw, Dillinger was the most notorious of all, standing out even among more violent criminals such as Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Bonnie and Clyde. Media reports in his time were spiced with exaggerated accounts of Dillinger's bravado and daring and his colorful personality. The government demanded federal action, and J. Edgar Hoover developed a more sophisticated Federal Bureau of Investigation as a weapon against organized crime and used Dillinger and his gang as his campaign platform to launch the FBI.
After evading police in four states for almost a year, Dillinger was wounded and returned to his father's home to recover. He returned to Chicago in July 1934 and met his end at the hands of police and federal agents who were informed of his whereabouts by Ana Cumpănaş. On July 22, the police and Division of Investigation closed in on the Biograph Theater. Federal agents, led by Melvin Purvis and Samuel P. Cowley, moved to arrest Dillinger as he left the theater. He pulled a weapon and attempted to flee but was shot four times and killed.
John Dillinger timeline
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John Dillinger Born
John Herbert Dillinger was born June 22, 1903 in the Oak Hill section of Indianapolis, Indiana, the younger of two children born to John Wilson... Read more
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John Dillinger Marries Beryl Ethel Hovious
Dillinger returned to Mooresville where he met Beryl Ethel Hovious (born August 6, 1906), the daughter of Stephen Hovious and Cara Vandeventer. The... Read more
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John Dillinger Convicted, Sentenced to 10-20 Years in Prison
Edgar Singleton told Dillinger of a local grocer who would be carrying his daily receipts on his way from work to the barbershop. Singleton... Read more
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John Dillinger paroled after eight and a half years
Dillinger embraced the criminal lifestyle behind bars in the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. He became embittered against society because of... Read more
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John Dillinger Crime Spree
The Federal Bureau of Investigation was brought into the investigation to help identify the criminals, although the men had not violated any... Read more
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John Dillinger Arrested, Held in Allen County Jail
After robbing a bank in Bluffton, Ohio, Dillinger was tracked by police from Dayton. He was captured and jailed in Lima. After searching him before... Read more
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John Dillinger, gang arrested in Tucson, Arizona
A fire broke out at Hotel Congress in Tucson where the men were staying. Forced to leave their luggage behind, they were rescued through a window... Read more
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Little Bohemia Lodge shootout
In April, the gang settled at a lodge hideout called Little Bohemia Lodge, owned by Emil Wanatka, in the northern Wisconsin town of Manitowish... Read more
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John Dillinger Gunned Down at Biograph Theater
Dillinger attended the film Manhattan Melodrama at the Biograph Theater in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Dillinger was with his... Read more