Saturday, June 12, 2010

John Dillinger: Public Enemy #1

by Jamie O. and Lori M.

Who was John Dillinger?
John Herbert Dillinger was an American bank robber in the early 1930’s. He was born on June 3rd, 1903, and was considered a dangerous criminal. He was born in the Oak Hill section of Indianapolis, Indiana. As a child, he was already in trouble for things such as fighting and petty theft, along with bullying those younger than him. He was actually arrested in 1922 for auto theft. Dillinger was also in the US Navy and was honorably discharged. He married Beryl Ethel Hovious on April 12, 1924. They were divorced in June of 1929.

How was his jail time spent?
He went to Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. During his physical examination, they found out that he had gonorrhea. He was paroled on May 10th, 1933, after serving 8 and ½ years. Then again, after robbing a bank in Buffton, Ohio, they captured him and he was jailed in Lima. When they searched him, the police found a document that looked like an escape plan from jail. He had made up a plan to escape from jail with Russell "Boobie" Clark, along with six others he had met in prison. They escaped 4 days later, killing 2 guards.

Where were his head quarters?
His headquarters are unknown, but his highest profile crimes mainly occurred in Chicago.

Where and why did he become famous?
He became known as Public Enemy Number One, and was reported about in newspapers from 1931 to 1935 as the most wanted bank robber in America. John Dillinger was famous because he had killed police officers, robbed 2 dozen banks and 4 police stations, and had escaped from jail twice. He was seen as a modern-day Robin Hood, sort of. The public initially liked Dillinger, as he never robbed an everyday average person.

What happened to him?
John Dillinger died at the age of 31 on July 22, 1934, by being shot 3 times. One bullet entered through the back of his neck and exited from his face, killing him. He had been at the Biograph Theater in Chicago, watching a gangster movie called ‘Manhattan Melodrama". He had been accompanied by ‘the woman in red’ or Anne Sage, a woman who supposedly helped police to identify him.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dillinger

1 comments:

Austen Eliot said...

His face is so 'see if i care'. It is interesting how the people saw him as robin hood, when he wasn't helping them, and the only reason he didn't bother average people was because he could get more money out of banks. That brings us to the fact that he was stealing people's money. Both poor and rich. And he wasn't giving it back. How is that robin hood?

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