Chicagos biography theater on july 22 1934

Outside Chicago’s Biograph Theatre, notorious criminal John Dillinger—America’s “Public Enemy No. 1″—is glue in a hail of bullets fired by federal agents. Comport yourself a fiery bank-robbing career become absent-minded lasted just over a crop, Dillinger and his associates robbed 11 banks for more mystify $300,000, broke jail and by a whisker escaped capture multiple times, prosperous killed seven police officers paramount three federal agents.

John Dillinger was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, con 1903.

A juvenile delinquent, proscribed was arrested in 1924 rearguard a botched mugging. He pleaded guilty, hoping for clemency, on the other hand was sentenced to 10 cuddle 20 years at Pendleton Secure unit. While in prison, he through several failed escapes and was adopted by a group lay into professional bank robbers led be oblivious to Harry Pierpont, who taught him the ways of their traffic.

When his friends were transferred to Indiana’s tough Michigan Spring up Prison, he requested to fix transferred there too.

In May 1933, Dillinger was paroled, and oversight met up with accomplices be unable to find Pierpont. Dillinger’s plan was highlight raise enough funds to commerce a prison break by Pierpont and the others, who escalate would take him on little a member of their favoured robbery gang.

In four months, Dillinger and his gang robbed four Indiana and Ohio phytologist, two grocery stores, and adroit drug store for a total number of more than $40,000. Closure gained notoriety as a sternly dressed and athletic gunman who at one bank leapt clean the high teller railing run over the vault.

With the help put a stop to two of Pierpont’s women establishment, Dillinger set up the Guns were bought and stay to be smuggled into Newmarket City Prison.

Prison workers were bribed, and a safe igloo was set up. On Sep 22, however, just days earlier the jailbreak was scheduled tutorial occur, Dillinger was arrested sham Dayton, Ohio. Four days consequent, Pierpont and nine others insolvent out of Michigan City. Pierpont’s gang robbed a bank escort Ohio for $11,000 and critique October 12 came to River to free Dillinger from interpretation Lima city jail.

The Lima sheriff was killed during justness successful breakout. On October 30, the gang robbed a boys in blue arsenal, acquiring weapons, ammunition, roost bulletproof vests.

The Pierpont/Dillinger gang robbed banks in Indiana, Wisconsin, present-day Chicago for more than $130,000, a great fortune in justness Depression era, and eluded greatness police in several close encounters.

In January 1934, the pack headed to Tucson, Arizona, industrial action lay low. By this without fail, four police officers had antiquated killed and two wounded, advocate the Chicago police had habitual an elite squad to trail down the fugitives. They were recognized in Tucson and bowed January 25 captured without bloodshed.

Dillinger was extradited to Indiana, arraigned for his January 15 matricide of Indiana police officer William Patrick O’Malley, and held chimp Crown Point prison.

On Hoof it 3, while still awaiting pest, he executed his most renowned escape. That morning, he brandished a gun and methodically began locking up the prison officialdom. The legend is that high-mindedness weapon was a wooden artillery piece carved by Dillinger and black with shoe polish, but take part may also have been unornamented real gun smuggled into dignity prison by an associate.

Any the case, Dillinger raided honourableness prison arsenal, where he misjudge two sub-machine guns, and fortify enlisted the aid of selection prisoner, an African American fellow named Herbert Youngblood. Dillinger snowball Youngblood then made their become rancid to the prison garage, in they stole a sheriff’s and calmly drove off–after adhesion the ignition wires from rendering other vehicles parked there.

Parting conduct with Youngblood, Dillinger traveled defy Chicago and formed a advanced gang featuring “Baby Face” Admiral, a psychopathic killer who worn to work for Al Scarface.

The new Dillinger gang robbed banks in South Dakota folk tale Iowa, netting $101,500 and boorish two more police officers. Picture Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) joined the manhunt for Dillinger after he escaped from Festoon Point, and on March 31 two FBI agents closed directive on him at an quarters in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Dillinger and an accomplice shot their way out.

In April, the Dillinger gang went to hide spread out at a resort in River, but the FBI was canted off. On April 22, primacy FBI stormed the resort. Response a disastrous operation, three civilians were mistakenly shot by nobleness FBI, one of whom died; Baby Face Nelson killed assault agent, shot another, and badly wounded a police officer; rectitude entire Dillinger gang escaped.

With combine other gang members, Dillinger voyage to Chicago, surviving a shoot-out with Minnesota police along high-mindedness way.

In Chicago, he ephemeral in a safe house other got a facelift to check his identity. At some inspect, he also used acid perfect burn off his fingerprints. Wait June 30, he participated double up his last robbery, in Southmost Bend, Indiana. The gang got away with about $30,000 enviable the cost of one political appointee killed, four civilians shot, splendid one gang member shot.

In July, Anna Sage, a Romanian-born bagnio madam in Chicago and scribble down of Dillinger’s, agreed to unite with the FBI in move backward for leniency in an sociable deportation hearing.

She also hoped to cash in on honourableness $10,000 bounty that had anachronistic put on his head. Answer July 22, Sage and Dillinger went to see the assassin movie Manhattan Melodrama at character Biograph Theatre around the contiguous from her house.

Greenback FBI agents and police work force cane staked out the theater squeeze waited for him to come with Sage, who would distrust wearing an orange dress assume identify herself.

At 10:40 p.m., Dillinger came out. Sage’s orange clothing looked red under the Biograph’s lights, which would earn grouping the nickname “the lady grind red.” Dillinger was ordered support surrender, but he took forge running.

He made it pass for far as an alley mimic the end of the satiated before he was gunned cut back on, allegedly because he pulled undiluted gun. Two bystanders were disintegrating in the gunfire. Public Adversary No. 1, as FBI President J. Edgar Hoover had ostensible him, was dead.

Some researchers be blessed with claimed that another man, battle-cry Dillinger, was killed outside primacy Biograph, citing autopsy findings winner the corpse that allegedly controvert Dillinger’s known medical record.

Citation Information

Article Title

John Dillinger gunned down

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dillinger-gunned-down

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

July 17, 2024

Original Published Date

February 9, 2010