1902-1934

John Dillinger was an American bank robber who attracted national attention for a series of crimes he committed in the midwestern United States over a period of 13 months in 1933and 1934, considered by some to be a notorious and dangerous criminal, while others considered him a Robin Hood-like hero.

Dillinger was born on June 22, 1903 in Indianapolis, Indiana and grew up in nearby Mooresville.

Dillinger committed his first armed robbery in 1924, and served nine years in prison before being released in May 1933, during the Great Depression.

While in prison, Dillinger formed a gang, which included “Baby Face” Nelson and “Pretty Boy” Floyd, both of whom were later killed in gun battles with law officers. The gang robbed a dozen banks and held up three police stations to free captured gang members. In July 1933 J. Edgar Hoover of the Bureau of Investigation, now the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), identified Dillinger as “public enemy number one.” One of Dillinger's most famous acts was his escape, using a mock gun carved from wood, from the heavily guarded jail in Crown Point, Indiana, where he was awaiting trial for killing a police officer.

In 1934 Dillinger moved to Chicago, Illinois, and forced a plastic surgeon to alter his face and fingerprints. However, Dillinger was betrayed by an acquaintance who told federal agents that she would wear a red dress while accompanying him to the Biograph Theater. On July 22, federal agents fatally shot Dillinger as he exited the movie theater. The woman who betrayed him for a portion of the $50,000 in reward money became known as the “lady in red.” Some historians claim that Dillinger was not the man killed in front of the theater.

To this day, loyal fans continue to observe "John Dillinger Day" (July 22) as a way to remember the fabled outlaw that he was. Members of the "John Dillinger Died for You Society" traditionally gather at the Biograph Theater on the anniversary of Dillinger's death and retrace his last walk to the alley where he died, following a bagpiper playing "Amazing Grace".

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