John Dillinger

John Dillinger was born on June 28, 1902 in Indianapolis, Indiana and grew up in nearby Mooresville. In 1923, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, but deserted within a few months. The following year, Dillinger turned up in Mooresville, where he was arrested for armed robbery.

Dillinger served time in Indiana prisons until 1933, when he was paroled. As soon as he was released, he formed a gang and was back in prison within four months. His gang sprang him, but he was captured again by the end of the year and sent back to prison in Indiana.

On March 3, 1934, Dillinger escaped by fashioning a fake gun out of a potato and shoe polish. Once out of prison, he continued to rob banks, eventually named Public Enemy Number One by the FBI.

His last attempt at freedom ended on July 22, 1934. Dillinger attended the film “Manhattan Melodrama” at the Biograph Theater in Chicago with his girlfriend Polly Hamilton and Ana Campanas, a brothel owner who was facing deportation charges. When they exited the theater, Campanas tipped off the FBI who opened fire, killing Dillinger.