During the darkest years of the Great Depression, John Dillinger became one of the most notorious outlaws in America.
He robbed banks, escaped from jail, crossed state lines, and repeatedly humiliated law enforcement while newspapers transformed him into something larger than life. To some Americans, Dillinger became a Depression-era folk hero striking back at the banks. To the federal government, he was one of the most dangerous fugitives in the country.
Dillinger’s gang carried out a string of violent bank robberies across the Midwest, and his name became linked with other infamous criminals of the era, including Baby Face Nelson. His spectacular escape from the Crown Point jail in Indiana only added to his legend and intensified the manhunt.
By the summer of 1934, federal agents were determined to bring him down.
Their break came from Anna Sage, the woman who became famous as the “Lady in Red,” although the dress she wore that night may actually have been orange. Sage tipped authorities that Dillinger would be attending a movie in Chicago.
On July 22, 1934, Dillinger walked into the Biograph Theater with two women to watch the gangster film Manhattan Melodrama. Federal agents were waiting outside.
When Dillinger emerged from the theater that night, agents moved in. According to the FBI, Dillinger attempted to flee and reached toward a weapon. Five shots were fired by three federal agents, and three struck him. John Dillinger was pronounced dead later that night.
He was only 31 years old.
But Dillinger’s death did little to diminish his legend. Nearly a century later, the bank robber who became one of America’s most famous public enemies remains an enduring symbol of the outlaw era of the 1930s.
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