Biography of John Dillinger

A public enemy unusual folk hero

June 22, 1903
July 22, 1934
John Herbert Dillinger, a character notorious for his criminal career of bank robber, was born in Indianapolis (Indiana, USA) on June 22, 1903. It's the September 6, 1924 when at the age of twenty in Mooresville, robbery groceries near home; He was arrested and subsequently released through the intercession of his stepmother. Nevertheless has no plans to take off from the wrong path up: continues to organize and carry out robberies. Shuts down again in Dayton, Ohio: the prison is transferred to the prison of Michigan City; in cahoots with some men of his gang, Dillinger escapes. Back then on the field and start his work as a bank robber.
The image of Dillinger remains etched in the minds of his victims to the elegant shape of his clothes, his hat and his Haute Couture coat are symbols that they identify in the popular imagination figure from gangsters. This charming style actually helped make Dillinger a legend of his time. Considered by the FBI and by its historic Director John Edgar Hoover "public enemy number 1," Dillinger earns even the fame of "Robin Hood" crime: the years in which we operate are those of the great depression, historical period of profound crisis of the United States; After the usual robberies make a habit of setting fire to the accounting records on which shall be recorded the debts and mortgages for people in financial difficulties. In this way the gratitude of Dillinger attracted many customers strapped for cash as well as the sympathy of much of the public.
Despite its bright character and style never overly brutal, when his "activities" begin to learn a curve downward, is isolated from the underworld, fearing to attract the attention of the police; is isolated even thanks to innovative research methods with the FBI. Dillinger trying to react and decides to ally with another known criminal gang at the time, "Baby Face" Nelson, Dillinger and certainly much more rude individual unscrupulous compared to him (and that he gets to share the fame of "public enemies"). In the 1930s tries to lose his trail to the FBI, which is on your tail, even using acid to erase their fingerprints.
In March 1934, in Tucson, he was arrested at a hotel along with a good part of his gang, thanks to fortuitous circumstances. Spend only a few days and deals with coming back to unleash a truly national political case: the prison escapes this time is to Crown Point, Indiana (here is also immortalized in some photos-become famous then him ironically embraced the warden of the prison). To complete this latest evasion takes hostage a few agents and steal even the car of the Director of the institution. Crossing the border of the State of Indiana Dillinger commits an offence: this fact-together with a recent law passed by the us Congress on the carjacking-allows the FBI to intervene promptly organizing themselves. After four months after his escape, Dillinger is identified in Chicago.
While it is outside a movie theater, where she was going out with prostitutes Polly Hamilton and Ana Cumpanas (after witnessing the projection of the movie "Manhattan Melodrama," with Clark Gable-whose plot includes a story of gangsters), some FBI agents kill treacherously John Dillinger. Dies murdered by the explosion of five gunshots, the day July 22, 1934, aged only 31 years old. To betray the mobster was Ana Cumpanas, known in the environment of the time as Anna Sage and later known as the "woman in red" (because of the flamboyant color of dress worn to be recognized by the police). Ana had passed to British intelligence information to frame Dillinger, in return for his staying in America: he wanted to avoid being deported to his native land, Romania, but it would have been completely useless as it would eventually be deported anyway. The fatal ambush young g-man Melvin Purvis, also appointed by the Director John Edgar Hoover to coordinate research with the men of the new FBI, including trained investigator Charles Winstead. Purvis, the FBI let only a year after the death of Dillinger: he will die in 1960 because of a shot gun accidentally from his party, even if you do not exclude the hypothesis of suicide. In the United States there is a museum dedicated to John Dillinger.
Rich is also the filmography is dedicated to him, from "the exterminator" (1945, by Max Nosseck), passing through many films during the 1960s and 1970s, until "Dillinger: public enemy number one" (1991, Rupert Wainwright, played by Mark Harmon), "Dillinger and Capone (1995, by Jon Purdy, played by Martin Sheen)," public enemy-Public Enemies "(2009, Michael Mann, played by Johnny Depp).
Article contributed by the team of collaborators.