John Dillinger biography

Synopsis

Synopsis

John Dillinger was born June 22, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana. As a boy he committed petty theft. In 1924 he robbed a grocery store and was caught and jailed. He escaped and he and his gang headed to Chicago to put together one of the most organized and deadly bank robbing gangs in the country. They continued on a crime spree until arrested. This pattern continued until he was shot by the FBI.

Early Life

John Herbert Dillinger was born June 22, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana. As a child he went by "Johnnie." As an adult he was known as "Jackrabbit" for his graceful moves and quick getaways from the police. As a legend, he was known as "Public Enemy Number One." His exploits during the depth of the Great Depression made him a headline news celebrity and one of the most feared gangsters of the 20th century.

As a boy, John Dillinger was constantly getting into trouble. He would commit small time pranks and petty theft with his neighborhood gang, "the Dirty Dozen." Most of his neighbors would later say he was generally a cheerful, likable kid who didn't get in to any more mischief than other boys. But there were also accounts of severe juvenile delinquency and malicious behavior as a teenager. To a degree, both of these perceptions are correct and were evident in his adult life. Like any celebrity, accounts describing his early life were shadowed by his later exploits and added either positively or negatively to his reputation.

John Dillinger was the youngest of two children born to John Wilson Dillinger and Mary Ellen "Molly" Lancaster. The elder Dillinger was a somber, church-going small businessman who owned a neighborhood grocery store and some rental houses. He was simultaneously a harsh disciplinarian who would beat Johnnie for his insubordination, and then turn around and give him money for candy. Later, when Johnnie was in his teens, Dillinger, Sr. would alternate between locking Johnnie in the house all day and then, later in the week, letting him roam the neighborhood for most of the night.

Johnnie Dillinger's mother, Molly, died of a stroke when he was not quite yet four years old. His sister, Audrey, who was 15 years his senior raised him until his father remarried in 1912. Dillinger quit school at age 16, not due to any trouble, but because he was bored and wanted to make money on his own. He was said to be good employee with a talent for working with his hands. His father, however, wasn't pleased with his career choice and tried to talk him out of it. John showed his obstinacy and refused to go back to school. In 1920, hoping a change of venue would provide a more wholesome influence on his son, John Dillinger, Sr.