“I rob banks for a living, what do you do?” – John Dillinger

John Dillinger Biography

The Depression-era has become a somewhat romanticised time in American history, especially as the memory of it fades from the collective consciousness. It was a time when people used to think that outlaws still had a certain amount of nobility or chivalry about them. And during this period, there was no outlaw who was more famous to the people and reviled by the federal agents than John Dillinger.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Born in Indiana, USA on 22 June 1903, John Dillinger had a troubled youth. His mother died before his 4th birthday and his family situation with his father was never stable. John Dillinger simply had a desire for mischief even from a young age. Accused of bullying smaller children at school, brash behaviour, and petty theft, Dillinger, even as a child showed all the hallmarks that would come to characterise his personality later in life. His father, concerned for his well-being and fearing that the city was corrupting his son, moved them further out into the countryside; however, this did nothing to assuage the young Dillinger’s need for rebellion and by the age of 19 he was getting into more serious trouble and in 1922, he was arrested for auto theft.

John Dillinger’s behaviour started to drive a wedge between him and his father and so he enlisted in the US Navy and was assigned to the USS Utah as a Fireman.  however, after only a few months into his service, he deserted when the ship made port in Boston and he eventually received a dishonourable discharge. He then returned to the rural town he had left, Mooresville, Indiana, where he met Beryl Ethel Hovious, whom he married in 1924. The couple attempted to settle down into some sort of family life but John had difficulty finding work, and when he did find a job he often struggled to keep it, so he started to think of more rewarding ways of making money, eventually settling on a plan to commit a robbery in collaboration with his friend Ed Singleton.

Recognised by a local man, John Dillinger and Ed Singleton were quickly caught by the Mooresville Police Department. After initially pleading not guilty, John was convinced by his father that he would get an easier sentence if he pled guilty. John’s father worked to try and get a lenient sentence for his son but instead, John was sent to prison for 10 to 20 years. Unfortunately, his time in prison did not have the desired results and instead of rehabilitating he spent his time learning from other inmates and even began meticulous planning for how they would rob banks when they were released. It was during this period that John Dillinger learned the skills that would make him a bank robbing legend.

Through the successful lobbying of his father, Dillinger was paroled after having served nine and a half years. With a newly acquired knowledge of criminality and getting released in the midst of the Great Depression, honest work was difficult to come by and so immediately upon release, Dillinger began a professional life of crime and started planning his first bank robbery.

On 21 June 1933, the day before his 30th birthday, Dillinger successfully robbed the New Carlisle National Bank, getting away with $10,000. After robbing another bank in Ohio, Dillinger was swiftly caught by the police who took him into custody and sent him to the Allen County Jail. Before he entered the jail, he was searched and to their astonishment the police found him to be in possession of documents that seemed to point towards an escape plan, but when he was quizzed about them, he wouldn’t let on what they were.

With the help of friends from his previous time in jail who were adept at impersonating police officers, Dillinger did indeed break out of prison and immediately formed his first professional b...