John Dillinger: The infamous robber and being the public menace of the 1930s
*Early Life: Born as John Herbert Dillinger on June 22, 1903, he was an American born in Indianapolis, Indiana. John Wilson Dillinger Sr. , his father, owned a small grocery store and four houses to support his family, thus giving them a fairly decent but not extravagant life. Unfortunately, Dillinger’s mother, Mollie Lancaster died, and left her only son, Johnnie when he was just a tender three years of age.
*Criminal Beginnings: The early years of Dillinger’s teenage hood was characterised by drooling and rebellious nature. He left school and joined a machine shop and for the next few years he was a day shift machine operator. His homecoming at night was a thorn in the flesh of his disciplinarian father, who used to scold him for coming home late at night. Having realized the need to be disciplined in life, Dillinger joined the navy though his stay only lasted five months during which he deserted. In April, 12, 1924, Dillinger, aged 20, married a 16-year old Beryl Hovious, which worsened the already bitter relationship between Dillinger and his father.
*The Rise to Notoriety: Dillinger’s first encounter with the law occurred when at the age of 19, he was caught and charged with the robbery of a grocery store in the town of Mooresville, Indiana in 1924. He was given a severe punishment of a long-term imprisonment ranging from 10 years to 20 years. From his cell in October 1933, Dillinger penned a poignant letter to his father, expressing regret and bitterness: “I realize I have let you down in so many ways but I guess I did my time, for where I went in a carefree boy, I came out hating everything in general… if only you had let me off the hook the first time I offended you, then this would not have happened. "
*The FBI Pursuit and Downfall: Dillinger was officially named as as the first Public Enemy No 1 in America, on June 22, 1934 which incidentally was his 31st birthday. The federal government raised its bounty to $10,000 for his apprehension, while it offered $5,000 for anyone who could supply information that would lead to his apprehension. A month later again on the July 22 1934, Dillinger’s crime spree came to a violent end when he was shot twice and killed instantly by the Division of Investigation otherwise known as the FBI before he could successfully execute his mission outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago.
*Legacy and Impact: John Dillinger came to represent a much-loathed yet iconic figure of the Gangster Age and the spirited years of the Great Depression. It appears that for this man his sophisticated burglaries and prison escapes were painted with a positive perspective by most people who admired his acts, although his egregious acts of crime could not go unnoticed, for they were violent and destructive. Dillinger’s apprehension by the elites in FBI was a turning point in the agencies history and further expressed its intention in fighting the mafia. Through these pieces of fiction, Dillinger and his short lifetime of crime have become legendary, perpetuated as both entertaining and cautionary, a violent morality tale that depicts the ignoble end of the outlaw at the hand of justice.
