John Dillinger
Dillinger, John (1902–1934), a United States criminal. Dillinger projected an image of glamour and generosity that made him a kind of Robin Hood folk hero to the American public. He was, however, a cold-blooded killer who robbed numerous banks, shot and killed 10 men, and committed various other felonies in his brief career during the Great Depression. Dillinger was designated “public enemy number one” by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1933. He was killed in a gun battle with FBI agents after he left the Biograph Theatre in Chicago in the company of Anna Sage, the so-called Lady in Red, who had informed on him for reward money.
Dillinger was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and later moved to Mooresville. In 1923 he joined the U.S. Navy but deserted within months. Dillinger attempted his first robbery, that of a grocery store in Mooresville, in 1924. He was caught and sent to prison. Not long after his parole in 1933, he formed a gang and began robbing banks throughout the Midwest.