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((Short description|American bank robber (1903–1934)))
((use mdy dates|date=November 2023))
((Redirect|Dillinger))
((Infobox person
| name               = John Dillinger
| image              = John Dillinger mug shot.jpg
| image_upright      = 0.8
| birth_name         = John Herbert Dillinger
| birth_date         = ((Birth date|1903|6|22))
| birth_place        = [[Indianapolis, Indiana]], U.S.
| death_date         = ((Death date and age|1934|7|22|1903|6|22))
| death_place        = [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_cause        = [[Gunshot wounds]]
| spouse             = Beryl Hovious (divorced)<br />[[Evelyn Frechette]] (common law relationship)
| criminal_charge    = Bank robbery, assault, assault of an officer, grand theft auto
| criminal_penalty   = Imprisonment from 1924 to 1933
| criminal_status    = 
))

'''John Herbert Dillinger''' (((IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɪ|l|ɪ|n|dʒ|ər)); June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]]. He commanded the [[Dillinger Gang]], which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and escaped twice. He was charged with but not convicted of the murder of an [[East Chicago, Indiana]], police officer, who shot Dillinger in his [[bullet-proof vest]] during a [[shootout]]; it was the only time Dillinger was charged with homicide.

Dillinger courted publicity. The media printed exaggerated accounts of his bravado and colorful personality, and described him as a [[Robin Hood]].<ref name=":0"/><ref>((cite web|last=Reynolds|first=Dean|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/on-the-trail-of-john-dillinger/|title=On the trail of John Dillinger|website=CBS News|access-date=June 28, 2018|date=June 21, 2009|quote=Dillinger's robberies netted more than $300,000 (equal to $4 million today). To many, though, he was more Robin Hood than robber. 'Middle Americans were so angry at the bankers and businessmen who had taken their money, their home, their jobs, hundreds of thousands of Middle Americans especially were cheering on Dillinger,' said Burrough.))</ref><ref>((cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/americas-own-robin-hood-the-dillinger-legend-ljr06mj88z8|title=America's own Robin Hood The Dillinger legend|newspaper=The Sunday Times|access-date=June 28, 2018|date=June 28, 2009|last=Goodwin|first=Christopher|quote=Dillinger's audacious string of robberies and prison escapes in the early 1930s turned him into an American folk hero, a Depression-era Robin Hood. His gang robbed more than a dozen banks between May 1933 and July 1934, stealing over $300,000. He also destroyed thousands of mortgage records during the robberies, helping many poor people escape payments to banks.))</ref> In response, [[J. Edgar Hoover]], director of the [[Bureau of Investigation]] (BOI), used Dillinger as a rationale to evolve the BOI into the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], developing more sophisticated investigative techniques as weapons against [[organized crime]].<ref name=":0">Elliott J. Gorn, ''Dillinger's Wild Ride: The Year That Made America's Public Enemy Number One'' (2009), p 101.<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref>

After evading police in four states for almost a year, Dillinger was wounded and went to his father's home to recover. He returned to Chicago in July 1934 and sought refuge in a [[brothel]] owned by [[Ana Cumpănaș]], who later informed authorities of his whereabouts. On July 22, 1934, local and federal law-enforcement officers closed in on the [[Biograph Theater]].<ref name="fbihist">((cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2006/march/fbiname_022406|publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation|title=A Byte Out of History – How The FBI Got Its Name|access-date=February 17, 2011|date=March 24, 2006))</ref> When BOI agents moved to arrest Dillinger as he exited the theater, he tried to flee, but was shot; the deadly shot was ruled [[justifiable homicide]].<ref name="J.J. Kearns' autopsy report">J. J. Kearns's autopsy report</ref><ref name=kldllher>((cite news|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1934/07/23/page/1/article/kill-dillinger-here|work=Chicago Daily Tribune|title=Kill Dillinger here|date=July 23, 1934|page=1|access-date=June 3, 2017|archive-date=June 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617195614/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1934/07/23/page/1/article/kill-dillinger-here/|url-status=dead))</ref>

==Early life==
===Family and background===
John Dillinger was born on June 22, 1903, at 2053 Cooper Street, [[Indianapolis, Indiana]],<ref>((cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/john-dillinger|title=Famous Cases & Criminals – John Dillinger|publisher=Fbi.gov|access-date=2017-04-21))</ref> the younger of two children born to John Wilson Dillinger (1864–1943) and Mary Ellen "Mollie" Lancaster (1870–1907).<ref name=matera>((cite book|title=John Dillinger: The Life and Death of America's First Celebrity Criminal|author=Matera, Dary|publisher=Carroll & Graf Publishers|year=2005|isbn=0-7867-1558-8))</ref>((rp|10))

Dillinger's parents had married on August 23, 1887. Dillinger's father was a grocer by trade and, reportedly, a harsh man.<ref name=matera/>((rp|9)) In an interview with reporters, Dillinger said that he was firm in his discipline and believed in the adage "spare the rod and spoil the child".<ref name=matera/>((rp|12)) Dillinger's older sister, Audrey, was born in 1889 and the mother died in 1907 just before his fourth birthday.<ref name=matera/><ref name=fbi>((cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/famcases/dillinger/dillinger.htm |title=Famous Cases: John Dillinger |access-date=2009-06-26 |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090919030546/http://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/famcases/dillinger/dillinger.htm |archive-date=2009-09-19 ))</ref>
Audrey married Emmett "Fred" Hancock that year and had seven children. She cared for her brother John for several years until their father remarried in 1912 to Elizabeth "Lizzie" Fields (1878–1933). They had three children.<ref name=fbi/><ref>((cite web|url=http://www.wthr.com/story/27856998/depression-era-gangster-john-dillingers-sister-dies-in-mooresville-at-92|title=Depression-era gangster John Dillinger's sister dies in Mooresville at 92|website=[[WTHR]]|date=January 15, 2015|author=WTHR.com Staff|access-date=January 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119023231/http://www.wthr.com/story/27856998/depression-era-gangster-john-dillingers-sister-dies-in-mooresville-at-92|archive-date=January 19, 2015|url-status=dead))</ref>

===Formative years and marriage===
As a teenager, Dillinger was frequently in trouble for fighting and petty theft; he was also noted for his "bewildering personality" and [[bullying]] of smaller children.<ref name=matera/>((rp|14)) He quit school to work in an Indianapolis machine shop. His father feared that the city was corrupting his son, prompting him to relocate the family to [[Mooresville, Indiana]], in 1921.<ref name=matera/>((rp|15)) Dillinger's wild and rebellious behavior was unchanged, despite his new rural life. In 1922, he was arrested for [[Motor vehicle theft|auto theft]], and his relationship with his father deteriorated.<ref name=matera/>((rp|16–17))

In 1923, Dillinger's troubles resulted in him enlisting in the [[United States Navy]], where he was a [[Petty officer third class]] Machinery Repairman assigned aboard the battleship ((USS|Utah|BB-31|6)),<ref>((Cite web|url=https://navy.togetherweserved.com/usn/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=AssignmentExt&ID=1660265|title=Shadow box|website=navy.togetherweserved.com|access-date=2018-02-19))</ref> but he [[Desertion|deserted]] a few months later when his ship was docked in [[Boston]]. He was eventually [[dishonorably discharge]]d some months later.<ref name=matera/>((rp|18–20))

Dillinger returned to Mooresville where he met Beryl Ethel Hovious.<ref name="birth">"Certificate of Birth: Beryl Hovious" Morgan County Health Department, [[Martinsville, Indiana]]. Filed 9-1923.</ref> The two married on April 12, 1924. He attempted to settle down, but he had difficulty.<ref name=":0"/> Unable to find a job, he began planning a robbery with his friend Ed Singleton,<ref name=matera/>((rp|22)) who was an ex-convict.<ref>((cite web |last1=Landers |first1=Chris |title=Dillinger played ball before he robbed banks |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/bank-robber-john-dillinger-played-baseball |website=MLB |publisher=MLB Advanced Media |access-date=April 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200426125200/https://www.mlb.com/news/bank-robber-john-dillinger-played-baseball |archive-date=26 April 2020 |url-status=live))</ref> The two robbed a local grocery store, stealing $50.<ref name=matera/>((rp|26)) While leaving the scene, the criminals were seen by a minister who recognized the men and reported them to the police. During the robbery, Dillinger had struck a victim on the head with a machine bolt wrapped in a cloth and had also carried a gun which, although it discharged, hit no one. The two men were arrested the next day. Singleton pleaded not guilty, but after Dillinger's father (the local Mooresville Church deacon) discussed the matter with Morgan County prosecutor Omar O'Harrow, his father convinced Dillinger to confess to the crime and plead guilty without retaining a defense attorney.<ref name=matera/>((rp|24))

Dillinger was convicted of [[assault]] and [[battery (crime)|battery]] with intent to rob, and [[conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] to commit a [[felony]]. He expected a lenient probation sentence as a result of his father's discussion with O'Harrow but was sentenced instead to 10 to 20 years in prison for his crimes.<ref name="fbi"/> His father told reporters he regretted his advice and was appalled by the sentence. He pleaded with the judge to shorten the sentence, but without success.<ref name=matera/>((rp|25)) En route to Mooresville to testify against Singleton, Dillinger briefly escaped his captors but was apprehended within a few minutes.<ref name=matera/>((rp|27)) Singleton had a change of venue and was sentenced to a jail term of 2 to 14 years. He died September 2, 1937.<ref>((cite web|title=Dillinger's Partner In First Crime Killed|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oLEhAAAAIBAJ&pg=4324%2C315762|date=September 2, 1937|access-date=August 10, 2018|work=[[Reading Eagle]]|page=14|via=Google News))</ref>

==Prison time==
Incarcerated at [[Indiana Reformatory]] and [[Indiana State Prison]] from 1924 to 1933, Dillinger developed a criminal lifestyle. Upon being admitted to prison, he was quoted as saying, "I will be the meanest bastard you ever saw when I get out of here."<ref name=matera/>((rp|26)) His physical examination at the prison showed that he had [[gonorrhea]], and the treatment for the condition was painful.<ref name=matera/>((rp|22)) He became resentful against society because of his long prison sentence and befriended other criminals, including seasoned bank robbers [[Harry Pierpont|Harry "Pete" Pierpont]], [[Charles Makley]], [[Russell Clark (criminal)|Russell Clark]], and [[Homer Van Meter]], who taught Dillinger how to be a successful criminal. The men planned heists that they would commit soon after they were released.<ref name=matera/>((rp|32)) Dillinger also studied [[Herman Lamm]]'s meticulous bank-robbing system and used it extensively throughout his criminal career.<ref>Helmer, pp. 165–166</ref>

Dillinger's father began a career to have him released and was able to obtain 188 signatures on a petition. On May 10, 1933, after serving nine and a half years, Dillinger was [[parole]]d.<ref name=matera/>((rp|37)) Released at the height of the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], Dillinger, with little prospect of finding employment,<ref name=matera/>((rp|35)) immediately returned to crime.<ref name=matera/>((rp|39))

On June 21, 1933, he robbed his first bank stealing $10,000 from the New Carlisle National Bank.<ref name="DDN-1933-06-21">"Bandits Bind Cashier, Clerk and Assistant", ''Dayton Daily News'', June 21, 1933, pp, 1, 5.</ref> On August 14, Dillinger robbed a bank in [[Bluffton, Ohio]]. Tracked by police from [[Dayton, Ohio]], he was captured and later transferred to the Allen County Jail in [[Lima, Ohio|Lima]] to be indicted in connection to the Bluffton robbery. After searching him before putting him into the prison, the police discovered a document which appeared to be a [[prison escape]] plan. They demanded Dillinger tell them what the document meant, but he refused.<ref name=fbi/>

Earlier, while in  school, Dillinger had helped conceive a plan to enable the escape of Pierpont, Clark, and six others he had met while in prison, most of whom worked in the prison laundry. Dillinger had friends smuggle guns into their cells which they used to escape four days after Dillinger's capture. The group that formed up, known as "the First Dillinger Gang,” consisted of Pierpont, Clark, Makley, Ed Shouse, Harry Copeland, and [[John Hamilton (gangster)|John "Red" Hamilton]], a member of the [[Herman Lamm]] Gang. Pierpont, Clark, and Makley arrived in [[Lima, Ohio|Lima]] on October 12, 1933, where they impersonated Indiana State Police officers, claiming they had come to extradite Dillinger to Indiana. When the sheriff, Jess Sarber, asked for their credentials, Pierpont shot Sarber dead, then released Dillinger from his house. The four men escaped back to Indiana, where they joined the rest of the gang.<ref name=fbi/>

==Bank robberies==
((Main|Dillinger Gang))
Dillinger is known to have participated with the [[Dillinger Gang]] in 12 separate bank robberies, between June 21, 1933, and June 30, 1934.<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/john-dillinger |title=John Dillinger |publisher=FBI |access-date=July 19, 2019))</ref>

==Evelyn Frechette==
[[Evelyn Frechette|Evelyn "Billie" Frechette]] met John Dillinger in October 1933, and they began a relationship in November 1933. After Dillinger's death, Billie was offered money for her story and wrote a memoir for the Chicago Herald and Examiner in August 1934.<ref>((Cite book|title=Defining Documents in American History: The 1930s (1930–1939)|publisher=Salem Press|year=2014|isbn=978-1-61925-4954|location=Ipswich, Massachusetts|pages=269))</ref>

==Escape from Crown Point, Indiana==
[[File:Tucson-Building-Hotel Congress old lobby-1919-2.jpg|upright=1.15|thumb|Display of newspaper clippings of the capture of John Dillinger and his gang in the old lobby of the Hotel Congress.]][[File:Tucson-John Dillinger House - 1925.jpg|thumb|250px|The John Dillinger House in Tucson, Arizona]]
On January 25, 1934, Dillinger and his gang were captured in [[Tucson, Arizona]].<ref>((cite web|url=https://www.library.pima.gov/blogs/post/dillinger-captured-in-Tucson|title=Dillinger Captured in Tucson|website=[[Pima County Public Library]]|access-date=January 15, 2018|author=PimaLib_LibrarianFiles|date=February 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217014713/https://www.library.pima.gov/blogs/post/dillinger-captured-in-tucson/|archive-date=December 17, 2017|url-status=dead))</ref><ref>((cite web|url=http://tucson.com/morguetales/dillinger-captured-in-tucson/article_0326f9b0-c480-11e5-b5c6-0bd2a84f0b59.html|title=1934: Dillinger captured in Tucson|first=Elaine|last=Raines|publisher=tucson.com|access-date=January 15, 2018|date=January 22, 2016))</ref> He was extradited to Indiana and escorted back by Matt Leach,<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/isp/2629.htm|title=ISP: The Pursuit of Public Enemy #1|website=www.in.gov|date=28 May 2021 ))</ref> the Chief of the Indiana State Police. Dillinger was taken to the Lake County Jail in [[Crown Point, Indiana]] and jailed for charges for the murder of a policeman who was killed during a Dillinger gang [[The Dillinger Gang#East Chicago robbery|bank robbery]] in East Chicago, Indiana, on January 15, 1934. The local police boasted to area newspapers that the jail was escape-proof and had posted extra guards as a precaution. However, on Saturday, March 3, 1934, Dillinger was able to escape during morning exercises with 15 other inmates, Dillinger produced a pistol, catching deputies and guards by surprise, and he was able to leave the premises without firing a shot. Almost immediately afterwards conjecture began whether the gun Dillinger displayed was real or not. According to Deputy Ernest Blunk, Dillinger had escaped using a real pistol. FBI files, on the other hand, indicate that Dillinger used a carved fake pistol. Sam Cahoon, a trustee who Dillinger took hostage in the jail, also believed Dillinger had carved the gun, using a razor and some shelving in his cell. In another version, according to an unpublished interview with Dillinger's attorney, [[Louis Piquett]], investigator Art O'Leary claimed to have sneaked the gun in himself.<ref>Girardin/Helmer, ''Dillinger: The Untold Story''<!-- page(s) needed --></ref>

On March 16, Herbert Youngblood, who escaped from Crown Point alongside Dillinger, was shot dead by police in [[Port Huron, Michigan]]. Deputy Sheriff Charles Cavanaugh was mortally wounded in the battle and later died. Before he died, Youngblood told officers Dillinger was in the neighborhood of Port Huron, and immediately officers began a search for the escaped man, but no trace of him was found. An Indiana newspaper reported that Youngblood later retracted the story and said he did not know where Dillinger was at that time, as he had parted with him soon after their escape.<ref>((cite news|author=Staff|title=YOUNGBLOOD IS SLAIN IN BATTLE|url=http://www.lowellpl.lib.in.us/youngblo.htm|newspaper=Lowell Tribune|location=Lowell, Indiana|date=March 22, 1934|access-date=2016-02-24))</ref>

Dillinger was indicted by a [[grand jury]], and the Bureau of Investigation (a precursor of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]])<ref name=fbihist/> organized a nationwide manhunt for him.<ref>((cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/john-dillinger|title=FBI History – Famous Cases, John Dillinger|publisher=FBI|access-date=2011-09-08|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902181920/http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/john-dillinger|archive-date=2011-09-02))</ref> Just hours after his escape from the Lake County Jail, Dillinger reunited with his girlfriend, Evelyn "Billie" Frechette.((citation needed|date=January 2018))

According to Frechette's trial testimony, Dillinger stayed with her for "almost two weeks." However, the two had actually traveled to the [[Twin Cities]] and taken lodgings at the Santa Monica Apartments [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]], where they stayed for 15 days.<ref>U.S. District Court, District of MN, USA vs. Evelyn Frechette, et al., pp. 590–92</ref><ref>Girardin/Helmer, "Dillinger: The Untold Story", p. 274</ref> Dillinger then met John "Red" Hamilton and the two mustered a new gang consisting of [[Baby Face Nelson]]'s gang, including Nelson, [[Homer Van Meter]], [[Tommy Carroll (criminal)|Tommy Carroll]] and [[Eddie Green (criminal)|Eddie Green]].

Three days after Dillinger's escape from Crown Point, the second Gang robbed a bank in [[Sioux Falls, South Dakota]]. A week later they robbed [[First National Bank of Mason City|First National Bank]] in [[Mason City, Iowa]].<ref>((cite web |title=Plenty of folks still remember infamous Dillinger bank robbery |url=https://globegazette.com/news/local/plenty-of-folks-still-remember-infamous-dillinger-bank-robbery/article_529e6fad-0abb-5561-9b59-a78d5643dc97.html |website=Globe Gazette |access-date=October 1, 2018))</ref>

==Lincoln Court Apartments shootout==
===Setting===
On Tuesday, March 20, 1934, Dillinger and Frechette relocated into the Lincoln Court Apartments in [[St. Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]], [[Minnesota]], using the aliases "Mr. & Mrs. Carl T. Hellman."<ref>Millett, Larry, AIA Guide to St. Paul's Summit Avenue & Hill District (2009), p. 68</ref><ref>USA vs. May/Frechette, et al, p.35</ref><ref>USA vs May/Frechette, Cutting's testimony, pp. 75–80</ref>

Daisy Coffey, the landlord, testified at Frechette's trial she spent most evenings during Dillinger's stay observing what was happening. On March 30, Coffey went to the FBI's St. Paul field office to file a report, including information about the couple's new Hudson sedan parked in the garage behind the apartments.

===Surveillance===
As a result of Coffey's tip, the building was surveilled by two agents, Rufus Coulter and Rusty Nalls, that night, but they saw nothing unusual, mainly because the blinds were drawn.<ref>USA vs May, Frechette, et al., testimony from Coffey and Nalls</ref> The next morning at approximately 10:15&nbsp;a.m., Nalls circled around the block looking for the Hudson, but observed nothing. He parked, first on Lincoln Avenue (the north side of the apartments), then on the west side of Lexington Avenue, at the northwest corner of Lexington and Lincoln, and remained in his car while watching Coulter and St. Paul Police detective Henry Cummings pull up, park, and enter the building.<ref>Dillinger File 62-29777, Nalls report</ref> Ten minutes later, by Nalls's estimate, Van Meter parked a green Ford coupe on the north side of the apartment building.<ref>USA vs. May/Frechette, et al. Nalls's testimony, p. 90</ref>

===Shootout===
Meanwhile, Coulter and Cummings knocked on the door of apartment 303. Frechette answered, opening the door two to three inches. She said she was not dressed and to come back. Coulter told her they would wait. After waiting two to three minutes, Coulter went to the basement apartment of the caretakers, Louis and Margaret Meidlinger, and asked to use the telephone to call the bureau. He quickly returned to Cummings, and the two of them waited for Frechette to open the door. Van Meter then appeared in the hall and asked Coulter if his name was Johnson. Coulter said it was not, and as Van Meter passed on to the landing of the third floor, Coulter asked him for a name. Van Meter replied, "I am a soap salesman." Asked where his samples were, Van Meter said they were in his car. Coulter asked if he had any credentials. Van Meter said "no", and continued down the stairs. Coulter waited 10 to 20 seconds, then followed Van Meter. As Coulter got to the lobby on the ground floor, Van Meter began shooting at him.<ref>USA vs. May/Frechette, Coulter's testimony, pp. 178–79</ref> Coulter hastily fled outside, chased by Van Meter. Van Meter ran back into the front entrance.

Recognizing Van Meter, Nalls pointed out the Ford to Coulter and told him to disable it. Coulter shot out the rear left tire. While Coulter stayed with Van Meter's Ford, Nalls went to the corner drugstore and telephoned the local police, then the bureau's St. Paul office, but could not get through because both lines were busy.<ref>Dillinger File, 62-29777, Nalls report</ref><ref>USA vs. May/Frechette, Nalls' testimony, p. 90</ref> Van Meter, meanwhile, escaped by hopping on a passing coal truck.<ref>Girardin/Helmer, p. 134</ref>

Frechette, in her harboring trial testimony, said that she told Dillinger that the police had shown up after speaking to Cummings. Upon hearing Van Meter firing at Coulter, Dillinger began shooting through the door with a Thompson submachine gun, sending Cummings scrambling for cover. Dillinger then stepped out and fired another burst at Cummings. Cummings shot back with a revolver, but quickly ran out of ammunition. He hit Dillinger in the left calf with one of his five shots. He then hastily retreated down the stairs to the front entrance.<ref>USA vs. May/Frechette, et al., Cummings' testimony, pp. 97–98</ref> Once Cummings retreated, Dillinger and Frechette hurried down the stairs, exited through the back door and drove away in the Hudson.((citation needed|date=January 2018))

===Aftermath===
After the shootout, Dillinger and Frechette drove to Eddie Green's apartment in Minneapolis. Green telephoned his associate Dr. Clayton E. May at his office at 712 Masonic Temple in downtown Minneapolis (still extant). With Green, his wife Beth, and Frechette following in Green's car, the doctor drove Dillinger to an apartment belonging to Augusta Salt, who had been providing nursing services and a bed for May's illicit patients for several years, patients he could not risk seeing at his regular office. May treated Dillinger's wound with antiseptics. Green visited Dillinger on Monday, April 2, just hours before Green was mortally wounded by the FBI in St. Paul. Dillinger convalesced at Dr. May's for five days, until Wednesday, April 4. Dr. May was promised $500 for his services, but received nothing.<ref>Cromie and Pinkston, "Dillinger: A Short and Violent Life, p. 189</ref><ref>USA vs. May/Frechette, Clayton May's testimony, pp. 473–87, 501.</ref>

==Return to Mooresville==
((more citations needed section|date=February 2017))
After the events in Minneapolis, Dillinger and Frechette traveled to Mooresville to visit Dillinger's father. Friday, April 6, 1934, was spent contacting family members, particularly his half-brother Hubert Dillinger. On April 6, Hubert and Dillinger left Mooresville at about 8:00&nbsp;p.m. and proceeded to Leipsic, Ohio (approximately 210 miles away), to see Joseph and Lena Pierpont, parents of Prohibition Era gangster, [[Harry Pierpont]]. The Pierponts were not home, so the two headed back to Mooresville around midnight.<ref name="FBI Dillinger File 62-29777">FBI Dillinger File 62-29777</ref>

On April 7 at approximately 3:30&nbsp;a.m., they rammed a car driven by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Manning near [[Noblesville, Indiana]], after Hubert fell asleep behind the wheel. They crashed through a farm fence and about 200 feet into the woods. Both men made it back to the Mooresville farm. Swarms of police showed up at the accident scene within hours. Found in the car were maps, a machine gun magazine, a length of rope, and a [[bullwhip]]. According to Hubert, his brother planned to pay a visit with the bullwhip to his former one-armed "shyster" lawyer at Crown Point, Joseph Ryan, who had run off with his retainer after being replaced by [[Louis Piquett]]. At about 10:30&nbsp;a.m. on April 7, Billie, Hubert and Hubert's wife purchased a black four-door Ford V8, registering it in the name of Mrs. Fred Penfield (Billie Frechette). At 2:30&nbsp;p.m., Billie and Hubert picked up the V8 and returned to Mooresville.((citation needed|date=February 2017))

On Sunday, April 8, the Dillingers enjoyed a family picnic while the FBI had the farm under surveillance nearby.<ref name="FBI Dillinger File 62-29777"/> <!--Present at the farm this day along with Dillinger and Billie:
*John W. Dillinger, 69, father
*Audrey Hancock, 45, sister
*Emmett Hancock, 50, husband of Audrey
*Mary Hancock, 18, daughter of Audrey
*Alberta Hancock, 14, daughter of Audrey
*Fred Hancock, 26, son of Audrey
*Norman Hancock, 21, son of Audrey
*Hubert Dillinger, 20, half-brother of John's
*Doris Dillinger, 15, half-sister of John's
*Frances Dillinger, 11, half-sister of John's --> Later in the afternoon, suspecting they were being watched (agents J. L. Geraghty and T. J. Donegan were cruising in the vicinity in their car), the group left in separate cars. Billie drove the new Ford V8, with two of Dillinger's nieces, Mary Hancock in the front seat and Alberta Hancock in the back. Dillinger was on the floor of the car. He was later seen, but not recognized, by Donegan and Geraghty. Eventually, Norman, driving the V8, proceeded with Dillinger and Billie to Chicago, where they separated from Norman.<ref name="FBI Dillinger File 62-29777"/>

The next afternoon, Monday, April 9, Dillinger had an appointment at a tavern at 416 North State Street. Sensing trouble, Billie went in first. She was promptly arrested by agents, but refused to reveal Dillinger's whereabouts. Dillinger was waiting in his car outside the tavern and then drove off unnoticed.<ref>Cromie and Pinkston, p. 196</ref> The two never saw each other again.((citation needed|date=February 2017))

Dillinger reportedly became despondent after Billie was arrested. The other gang members tried to talk him out of rescuing her, but Van Meter encouraged him by saying that he knew where they could find [[bulletproof vest]]s. That Friday morning, late at night, Dillinger and Van Meter took a hostage, [[Warsaw, Indiana]] police officer Judd Pittenger. They marched Pittenger at gunpoint into the police station, where they stole several more guns and bulletproof vests. After separating, Dillinger picked up Hamilton, who was recovering from the Mason City robbery. The two then traveled to the [[Upper Peninsula]] of [[Michigan]], where they visited Hamilton's sister Anna Steve.((citation needed|date=February 2017))

== Escape at Little Bohemia ==
The Bureau received a telephone call Sunday morning, April 22 that John Dillinger and several of his confederates were hiding out at a small vacation lodge called [[Little Bohemia Lodge|Little Bohemia]] near present-day [[Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin]].((citation needed|date=March 2022))

Special Agent in Charge [[Melvin Purvis]] and several BOI agents approached the lodge when three men exited the building and began to drive away. Agents yelled for the car to stop but the driver did not hear the agents. Agents opened up fire and the driver was killed.((citation needed|date=March 2022))

Dillinger and some of the gang were upstairs in the lodge and began shooting out the windows. While the BOI agents ducked for cover, Dillinger and his men fled from the back of the building.<ref>((Cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/newss-lessons-at-little-bohemia/view|title=Lessons at Little Bohemia|website=Federal Bureau of Investigation|language=en-us|access-date=2019-03-23))</ref>

== Hiding in Chicago ==
By July 1934, Dillinger had absconded, and the federal agents did not have any information about his whereabouts. He had, in fact, gone to Chicago where he used the alias of Jimmy Lawrence, a petty criminal from Wisconsin who bore a close resemblance to Dillinger. Working as a clerk, Dillinger found that, in a large metropolis like Chicago, he was able to live an anonymous existence for a while. What he did not realize was that the federal agents' dragnet happened to be based at Chicago. When the authorities found Dillinger's blood-spattered getaway car on a Chicago side street, they were positive that he was in the city.<ref name="fbi" />

==Plastic surgery==
((more citations needed section|date=February 2017))
According to Art O'Leary, as early as March 1934, Dillinger expressed an interest in [[plastic surgery]] and had asked O'Leary to check with Piquett on such matters. At the end of April, Piquett paid a visit to his old friend Dr. Wilhelm Loeser. Loeser had practiced in Chicago for 27 years before being convicted under the ''Harrison Narcotic Act'' in 1931. He was sentenced to three years at Leavenworth, but was paroled early on December 7, 1932, with Piquett's help.((citation needed|date=February 2017)) He later testified that he performed facial surgery on himself and obliterated the fingerprint impressions on the tips of his fingers by the application of a [[caustic soda]] preparation. Piquett said Dillinger would have to pay $5,000 for the plastic surgery: $4,400 split between Piquett, Loeser and O'Leary, and $600 to Dr. Harold Cassidy, who would administer the anaesthetic. The procedure would be done at the home of Piquett's longtime friend, 67-year-old James Probasco, at the end of May.((citation needed|date=February 2017))

On May 28, Loeser was picked up at his home at 7:30&nbsp;p.m. by O'Leary and Cassidy. The three of them then drove to Probasco's place. Dillinger chose to have a general anaesthetic. Loeser later testified:

<blockquote>
I asked him what work he wanted done. He wanted two warts (moles) removed on the right lower forehead between the eyes and one at the left angle, outer angle of the left eye; wanted a depression of the nose filled in; a scar; a large one to the left of the median line of the upper lip excised, wanted his dimples removed and wanted the angle of the mouth drawn up. He didn't say anything about the fingers that day to me.<ref>Piquett vs USA, Loeser's testimony, pp. 154–55</ref>
</blockquote>

Cassidy administered an overdose of [[diethyl ether|ether]], which caused Dillinger to suffocate. He began to turn blue and stopped breathing. Loeser pulled Dillinger's tongue out of his mouth with a pair of forceps, and at the same time forcing both elbows into his ribs. Dillinger gasped and resumed breathing. The procedure continued with only a local anesthetic. Loeser removed several moles on Dillinger's forehead, made an incision in his nose and an incision in his chin and tied back both cheeks.((citation needed|date=February 2017))

Loeser met with Piquett again on Saturday, June 2, with Piquett saying that more work was needed on Dillinger and that Van Meter now wanted the same work done to him. Also, both now wanted work done on their fingertips. The price for the fingerprint procedure would be $500 per hand or $100 a finger. Loeser used a mixture of nitric and [[hydrochloric acid]]—- known commonly as [[aqua regia]].<ref>Piquett vs USA, Loeser's testimony</ref>((Page needed|date=April 2017))

Loeser met O'Leary the next night at Clark and Wright at 8:30, and they once again drove to Probasco's. Present this evening were Dillinger, Van Meter, Probasco, Piquett, Cassidy, and Peggy Doyle, Probasco's girlfriend. Loeser testified that he worked for only about 30 minutes before O'Leary and Piquett left.

Loeser testified:

<blockquote>
Cassidy and I worked on Dillinger and Van Meter simultaneously on June 3. While the work was being done, Dillinger and Van Meter changed off. The work that could be done while the patient was sitting up, that patient was in the sitting-room. The work that had to be done while the man was lying down, that patient was on the couch in the bedroom. They were changed back and forth according to the work to be done. The hands were sterilized, made aseptic with antiseptics, thoroughly washed with soap and water and used sterile gauze afterwards to keep them clean. Next, cutting instrument, knife was used to expose the lower skin ... in other words, take off the epidermis and expose the derma, then alternately the acid and the alkaloid was applied as was necessary to produce the desired results.<ref>Piquett vs USA, Loeser's testimony, pp. 152–62</ref>
</blockquote>

Minor work was done two nights later, Tuesday, June 5. Loeser made some small corrections first on Van Meter, then Dillinger. Loeser stated:

<blockquote>
A man came in before I left, who I found out later was Baby Face Nelson. He came in with a drum of machine gun bullets under his arm, threw them on the bed or the couch in the bedroom, and started to talk to Van Meter. The two then motioned for Dillinger to come over and the three went back into the kitchen.
</blockquote>

Peggy Doyle later told agents:

<blockquote>
Dillinger and Van Meter resided at Probasco's home until the last week of June 1934; that on some occasions they would be away for a day or two, sometimes leaving separately, and on other occasions together; that at this time Van Meter usually parked his car in the rear of Probasco's residence outside the back fence; that she gathered that Dillinger was keeping company with a young woman who lived on the north side of Chicago, inasmuch as he would state upon leaving Probasco's home that he was going in the direction of Diversey Boulevard; that Van Meter apparently was not acquainted with Dillinger's friend, and she heard him warning Dillinger to be careful about striking up acquaintances with girls he knew nothing about; that Dillinger and Van Meter usually kept a machine gun in an open case under the piano in the parlor; that they also kept a shotgun under the parlor table.<ref>FBI Dillinger File 62-29777, Peggy Doyle statement</ref>
</blockquote>

O'Leary stated that Dillinger expressed dissatisfaction with the facial work that Loeser had performed on him. O'Leary said that, on another occasion, "that Probasco told him, 'the son of a bitch has gone out for one of his walks'; that he did not know when he would return; that Probasco raved about the craziness of Dillinger, stating that he was always going for walks and was likely to cause the authorities to locate the place where he was staying; that Probasco stated frankly on this occasion that he was afraid to have the man around."((citation needed|date=February 2017))

Agents arrested Loeser at 1127 South Harvey, Oak Park, Illinois, on Tuesday, July 24. O'Leary returned from a family fishing trip on July 24, the day of Loeser's arrest, and had read in the newspapers that the Department of Justice was looking for two doctors and another man in connection with some plastic surgery that had been done on Dillinger. O'Leary left Chicago immediately, but returned two weeks later, learned that Loeser and others had been arrested, telephoned Piquett, who assured him everything was all right, then left again. He returned from St. Louis on August 25 and was promptly taken into custody.<ref>Helmer/Mattix, "The Complete Public Enemy Almanac"</ref>

On Friday, July 27, Probasco fell to his death from the 19th floor of the Bankers' Building in Chicago while in custody. On Thursday, August 23, Homer Van Meter was shot and killed in a dead-end alley in St. Paul by Tom Brown, former St. Paul Chief of Police, and then-current chief Frank Cullen.((citation needed|date=February 2017))

==Polly Hamilton==
Rita "Polly" Hamilton was a teenage runaway from Fargo, North Dakota.<ref name="matera"/> She met Ana Ivanova Akalieva ([[Ana Cumpănaș]]; a.k.a. Ana Sage) in Gary, Indiana, and worked periodically as a prostitute in Ana's brothel until marrying Gary police officer Roy O. Keele in 1929. They divorced in March 1933.<ref name="matera"/>

In the summer of 1934, the now 26-year-old<ref name=":0"/> Hamilton was a waitress in Chicago at the S&S Sandwich Shop located at 1209½ Wilson Avenue. She had remained friends with Sage and was sharing living space with Sage and Sage's 24-year-old son, Steve, at 2858 Clark Street.<ref name="matera"/>

Dillinger and Hamilton, a [[Evelyn Frechette|Billie Frechette]] look-a-like,<ref name=":0"/><ref name="matera"/> met in June 1934 at the Barrel of Fun night club located at 4541 Wilson Avenue. Dillinger introduced himself as Jimmy Lawrence and said he was a clerk at the Board of Trade. They dated until Dillinger's death at the [[Biograph Theater]] in July 1934.<ref name=":0"/><ref name="matera"/>

==Betrayal==
Division of Investigations chief [[J. Edgar Hoover]] created a special task force headquartered in Chicago to locate Dillinger. On July 21, [[Ana Cumpănaș]], a madam from a brothel in [[Gary, Indiana]], also known as "The Woman in Red" contacted the FBI. She was a Romanian immigrant threatened with deportation for "low moral character"<ref>((cite book|last=Purvis|first=Alston W.|author2=Alex Tresinowski|title=The Vendetta|publisher=PublicAffairs|year=2005|pages=[https://archive.org/details/vendettafbiherom00purv/page/155 155]–56|url=https://archive.org/details/vendettafbiherom00purv|url-access=registration|quote=vendetta+purvis+ana sage+prostitute.|isbn=9781586483012))</ref> and offered agents information on Dillinger in exchange for their help in preventing her deportation. The FBI agreed to her terms, but she was later deported nonetheless. Cumpănaș revealed that Dillinger was spending time with another prostitute, Polly Hamilton, and that she and the couple were going to see a movie together on the next day. She agreed to wear an orange dress,<ref name="ayoob">((citation|work=American Handgunner|title=The death of John Dillinger|author=Massad Ayoob|date=July–August 2008|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_194_32/ai_n25469377|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119113932/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_194_32/ai_n25469377|archive-date=2012-01-19))</ref> so police could easily identify her. She was unsure which of two theaters they would attend, the Biograph or the Marbro.<ref name=fbi/>

On December 15, 1934, pardons were issued by Indiana Governor [[Harry G. Leslie]] for the offenses of which Ana Cumpănaș was convicted.<ref name="FBI-Cowley">FBI Dillinger File 62-29777, S.P. Cowley report, August 1, 1934.</ref>

Cumpănaș stated that on Sunday afternoon, July 22, Dillinger asked her whether she wanted to go to the show with them (Polly and him).

<blockquote>
She asked him what show was he going to see, and he said he would 'like to see the theater around the corner,' meaning the Biograph Theater. She stated she was unable to leave the house to inform [[Melvin Purvis|Purvis]] or Martin about Dillinger's plans to attend the Biograph, but as they were going to have fried chicken for the evening meal, she told Polly she had nothing in which to fry the chicken and was going to the store to get some butter; that while at the store she called Mr. Purvis and informed him of Dillinger's plans to attend the Biograph that evening, at the same time obtaining the butter. She then returned to the house so Polly would not be suspicious that she went out to call anyone.
</blockquote>

[[File:Crowd at Biograph Theater after Dillinger death.jpg|right|thumb|The crowd at Chicago's [[Biograph Theater]] on July 22, 1934, shortly after Dillinger was killed there by FBI agents.]]
A team of federal agents and officers from police forces from outside of Chicago was formed, along with a very small number of Chicago police officers. Among them was East Chicago Police Department Sergeant Martin Zarkovich, the officer to whom Cumpănaș had acted as a [[criminal informant]]. At the time, federal officials felt that the [[Chicago Police Department]] was thoroughly corrupt and could not be trusted; Hoover and Purvis also wanted more of the credit.<ref name="ayoob"/> Not wanting to take the risk of another embarrassing escape of Dillinger, the police were divided into two groups. On Sunday, one team was sent to the Marbro Theater on the city's west side, while another team surrounded the [[Biograph Theater]] at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue on the north side.<ref name=fbi/>

==Shooting at the Biograph Theater and death==
[[Image:BiographFBI1934.jpg|thumb|right|[[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] photograph of the Biograph Theater taken July 28, 1934, six days after the shooting, the only night ''[[Murder in Trinidad]]'' played.<ref>Chicago Daily Tribune, 7–15–34 through 8–1–34 movie section</ref>]]
[[File:National Museum of Crime and Punishmen - John Dillinger death mask.jpg|thumb|upright|A Dillinger [[death mask]] made from an original mold, one of four made. A second is on display at the Alcatraz East museum in Pigeon Forge, TN. Note the bullet exit mark below the right eye.]]
[[File:John Dillinger grave.jpg|thumb|Grave at [[Crown Hill Cemetery|Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana]] – at least the fourth marker to be replaced since 1934, due to souvenir seekers chipping away at them.]]

At approximately 8:30&nbsp;p.m., Sage, Hamilton, and Dillinger were observed entering the [[Biograph Theater]],<ref name=kldllher/><ref name="FBI-Cowley"/><ref name="The New York Times">((cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0722.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|title=On This Day (front page)|date=1934-07-23|access-date=2015-06-28))</ref> which was showing the crime drama ''[[Manhattan Melodrama]]'', featuring [[Clark Gable]], [[Myrna Loy]], and [[William Powell]]. During the stakeout, the Biograph's manager thought the agents were criminals preparing for a robbery. He called the Chicago police, who dutifully responded and had to be waved off by the federal agents, who told them that they were on a stakeout for an important target.<ref name=fbi/>

When the movie ended, Purvis<ref>((cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/famcases/dillinger/dillinger.htm|title=FBI History – Famous Cases, John Dillinger|publisher=FBI|access-date=2009-07-18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090919030546/http://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/famcases/dillinger/dillinger.htm|archive-date=2009-09-19))</ref> stood by the front door and signaled Dillinger's exit by lighting a cigar. Both he and the other agents reported that Dillinger turned his head and looked directly at the agent as he walked by, glanced across the street, then moved ahead of his female companions, reached into his pocket but failed to extract his gun,<ref name=matera/>((rp|353)) and ran into a nearby alley.<ref name="ayoob"/> Other accounts stated Dillinger ignored a command to surrender, whipped out his gun, then headed for the alley. Agents already had the alley closed off.<ref>''The Story of the FBI'', E.P. Dutton and Co., Inc. New York, 1947, p. 195.<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref>

Three men pursued Dillinger into the alley and fired. Clarence Hurt shot twice, [[Charles B. Winstead|Charles Winstead]] three times, and [[Herman Hollis]] once. Dillinger was hit from behind and fell face first to the ground.<ref name="nytimes">((cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0722.html|title=Dillinger Slain in Chicago; Shot Dead by Federal Men in Front of Movie Theater.|access-date=2013-02-04|newspaper=The New York Times))</ref>

Dillinger was struck four times, with two bullets grazing him and one causing a superficial wound to the right side. The fatal bullet entered through the back of his neck, severed the spinal cord, passed into his brain and exited just under the right eye, severing two sets of veins and arteries.<ref name="J.J. Kearns' autopsy report"/> An ambulance was summoned, although it was soon apparent Dillinger had died from the gunshot wounds; he was officially pronounced dead at [[Alexians|Alexian Brothers Hospital]].<ref name = fbi/><ref name="nytimes"/> According to investigators, Dillinger died without saying a word.<ref name="crimelibrary">May, Allan, and Marilyn Bardsley. [http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/outlaws/dillinger/12.html "Biograph Encounter"] ((webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311053753/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/outlaws/dillinger/12.html |date=2009-03-11 )), ''John Dillinger: Bank Robber or Robin Hood? – Crime Library''; accessed July 14, 2017.</ref> Winstead was later thought to have fired the fatal shot, and as a consequence received a personal [[Awards and decorations of the United States government#United States Intelligence Community|letter of commendation]]((specify|date=April 2017)) from J. Edgar Hoover.<ref name="ayoob"/>

Two female bystanders, Theresa Paulas and Etta Natalsky, were wounded. Dillinger bumped into Natalsky just as the shooting started.<ref name="FBI Dillinger File 62-29777"/><ref name="ayoob"/> Natalsky was shot and was subsequently taken to Columbus Hospital.<ref>U.S. Government Accountability Office – [http://www.gao.gov/products/419136#mt=e-report Document: A-57405, OCTOBER 10, 1934, 14 COMP. GEN. 300]; retrieved June 28, 2015.</ref>

Dillinger was shot and killed by the special agents on July 22, 1934,<ref name=kldllher/><ref name="agents' communiqués of a set of prior classified documents of the ''Federal Bureau of Investigation'' of the United States of America">((cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EcHe5fvJmX4C&q=john+dillinger|author=agents' communiqués of a set prior classified documents of the ''Federal Bureau of Investigation'' of the United States of America|title=John Dillinger: The FBI Files|publisher=Filiquarian Publishing, LLC., 2007 |isbn=978-1599862460|access-date=2015-06-27|year=2007)) ((dead link|date=December 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes)) (ed. doc. refers to the document number)</ref><ref>doc. F.B.I. comm. July 24, 1934.</ref> at approximately 10:40 p.m, according to a ''New York Times'' report the next day.<ref name="The New York Times"/> Dillinger's death came only two months after the deaths of fellow notorious criminals [[Bonnie and Clyde]]. There were reports of people dipping their handkerchiefs and skirts into the pool of blood that had formed, as Dillinger lay in the alley, as [[Souvenir|keepsakes]]: "Souvenir hunters madly dipped newspapers in the blood that stained the pavement. Handkerchiefs were whipped out and used to mop up the blood."<ref>Associated Press, "Most Feared Killer of Decade Reaches Trail's End in Hail of Shots", ''The San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Monday 23 July 1934, Volume 40, page 2.</ref>

==Funeral==
Dillinger's body was available for public display at the [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]] [[morgue]].<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.lostindiana.net/Lost_Indiana/Lost_Indiana__In_Grave_Condition__John_Dillinger.html|title=In Grave Condition – John H. Dillinger|access-date=2009-10-13|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719042606/http://www.lostindiana.net/Lost_Indiana/Lost_Indiana__In_Grave_Condition__John_Dillinger.html|archive-date=July 19, 2012))</ref> An estimated 15,000 people viewed the corpse over a day and a half. As many as four [[death mask]]s were also made.<ref>Girardin, Helmer, p. 313</ref>

Dillinger is buried at [[Crown Hill Cemetery]] in Indianapolis. Dillinger's gravestone has been replaced several times because of vandalism by people chipping off pieces as souvenirs.<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10615815|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120918050744/http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10615815|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-09-18|title=Dillinger's grave attracting crowds due to Public Enemies movie.|publisher=Wkowtv.com|date=2009-06-29|access-date=2013-02-04))</ref> Hilton Crouch (1903–1976), an associate of Dillinger's on some early heists, is buried only a few yards to the west.<ref>Girardin/Helmer, p. 280</ref>

==Popular culture==
===Literature===
*  "The Shooting of John Dillinger Outside the Biograph Theater, July 22, 1934"<ref>((Cite web|url=https://poets.org/poem/shooting-john-dillinger-outside-biograph-theater-july-22-1934|title=The Shooting of John Dillinger Outside the Biograph Theater, July 22, 1934 by David Wagoner - Poems &#124; Academy of American Poets|first=Academy of American|last=Poets|website=poets.org))</ref> a narrative poem by [[David Wagoner]] published in his collection ''Staying Alive'' (1966). The poet postulates some underlying reasons for the unfolding chain of events, significantly from Dillinger's perspective.
* John Dillinger is frequently referred to in the work of [[William S. Burroughs]]. An example is the poem "Thanksgiving Prayer" that is dedicated to Dillinger "in hopes he is still alive".<ref>((Cite web|url=http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/modlang/carasi/thanksgivingprayer.htm|title=Thanksgiving Prayer|first=William|last=Burroughs|website=City University of New York))</ref>
* John Dillinger is featured as a character in [[The Illuminatus Trilogy]] by [[Robert Shea]] and [[Robert Anton Wilson]].
* John Dillinger is frequently alluded to in the works of [[Thomas Pynchon]].
* John Dillinger is the main character in [[Jack Higgins]] ''Thunder at Noon''.
John Dillinger is referenced in one of Robert Indiana's 'Column' sculptures (c.1960)

===Movie depictions===
((more citations needed section|date=April 2017))
((original research|section|date=April 2017))
* 1935: The [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] crime movie ''[[Public Hero No. 1]]'' incorporates fictionalized details from Dillinger's narrative, including a gun battle at a Wisconsin roadhouse and the killing of the fugitive gangster ([[Joseph Calleia]]) as he leaves a theater.<ref>((cite news|last=Sennwald|first=Andre|date=June 8, 1935|title=Movie Review: Public Hero No. 1|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E02EFD6173FE23ABC4053DFB066838E629EDE |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=2015-11-22))</ref>
* 1941: [[Humphrey Bogart]] played a Dillinger-like role in ''[[High Sierra (film)|High Sierra]]'', a movie based loosely on research into Dillinger's life by W.R. Burnett.<ref>((cite web|title=High Sierra|url=http://bernardschopen.tripod.com/sierra.html|work=Classic Film Scores by Adolph Deutsch|last=Behlmer|first=Rudy|via=The Film Noir 'net|author-link=Rudy Behlmer|access-date=August 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428171826/http://bernardschopen.tripod.com/sierra.html|archive-date=April 28, 2017|url-status=dead))</ref>
* 1945: [[Lawrence Tierney]] played the title role in the first movie dramatization of Dillinger's career; ''[[Dillinger (1945 film)|Dillinger]]''.<ref>((cite web|title=Dillinger|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety157-1945-03#page/n71/mode/1up|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=March 14, 1945|access-date=August 9, 2018|page=16|via=[[Internet Archive]]))</ref>
* 1957: Director [[Don Siegel]]'s movie ''[[Baby Face Nelson (film)|Baby Face Nelson]]'', featured [[Mickey Rooney]] as Nelson and [[Leo Gordon]] as Dillinger.<ref>((Citation|title=Baby Face Nelson|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050155/|access-date=2017-10-11|website=[[IMDb]]))</ref>
* 1965: ''[[Young Dillinger]]'', featuring Nick Adams as John Dillinger, and Robert Conrad as "Pretty Boy" Floyd.
* 1969: Director [[Marco Ferreri]]'s movie ''[[Dillinger Is Dead]]'' includes documentary footage of real John Dillinger as well as newspaper clips.
* 1971: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doelWvSzyjg ''Appointment with Destiny; The Last Days of John Dillinger''], narrated by [[Rod Serling]], 52 minutes. Shot in newsreel style, very accurate for its time. The late Joseph Pinkston served as technical advisor. Pinkston himself makes an uncredited cameo in the Biograph sequence, playing an agent.
* 1973: ''[[Dillinger (1973 film)|Dillinger]]'', directed and written by [[John Milius]] with [[Warren Oates]] in the title role, presents the gang sympathetically, in keeping with the [[anti-hero]] theme popular in movies after ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]'' (1967).
* 1979: [[Lewis Teague]] directed the movie ''[[The Lady in Red (1979 film)|The Lady in Red]]'',featuring [[Pamela Sue Martin]] as the eponymous lady in the red dress. However, in this movie, it is Dillinger's girlfriend Polly in red, not the Romanian informant Ana Sage ([[Louise Fletcher]]). Sage tricks Polly into wearing red so that FBI agents can identify Dillinger ([[Robert Conrad]]) as he emerges from the cinema.
* 1991: A TV movie ''[[Dillinger (1991 film)|Dillinger]]'', featuring [[Mark Harmon]]
* 1995: [[Roger Corman]] produced the fictional movie ''[[Dillinger and Capone]]'', featuring [[Martin Sheen]] as Dillinger and [[F. Murray Abraham]] as [[Al Capone]]. Dillinger survives the theater stakeout when the FBI mistakenly guns down his brother and is then blackmailed by Capone into retrieving $15 million from his secret vault.
* 2004: ''Teargas and Tommyguns; Dillinger Robs the First National Bank'', DVD, Mason City Public Library, 38 minutes. Documentary regarding the bank robbery, including contemporary interviews with still-living witnesses; also contains the H.C. Kunkleman movie in its entirety.
* 2009: Director [[Michael Mann]]'s movie ''[[Public Enemies (2009 film)|Public Enemies]]'' is an adaptation of [[Bryan Burrough]]'s book ''Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34.''<ref>((cite news|last=Costello|first=Mark|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/01/books/review/01COSTELL.html|title=Public Enemies Review|work=The New York Times Book Review|date=August 1, 2004|access-date=February 7, 2009))</ref> The movie features [[Johnny Depp]] as John Dillinger, [[Marion Cotillard]] as Billie Frechette, and [[Christian Bale]] as FBI agent [[Melvin Purvis]]. Although the movie has accurate portrayals of several major moments in Dillinger's life—- such as his death and dialogue at his arraignment hearing—- it is inaccurate in some major historical details, such as the timeline (and location) of deaths of major criminals including [[Pretty Boy Floyd]], [[Baby Face Nelson]], and [[Homer Van Meter]].<ref>((cite web|last=Gorn|first=Elliott|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2222070|title=The Real John Dillinger: Is Public Enemies historically accurate?|date=July 2009|publisher=Slate.com|access-date=2012-05-01))</ref>
* 2012: British actor Alexander Ellis portrayed Dillinger in the first [[Dollar Baby]] screen adaptation of [[Stephen King]]'s short story, "[[The Death of Jack Hamilton]]".<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.thedeathofjackhamilton.com|title=The Death of Jack Hamilton official movie website|access-date=May 7, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507021516/http://thedeathofjackhamilton.com/|archive-date=May 7, 2013))</ref>
Dillinger features as an incidental character in Joel and Ethan Coen's "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (2000)

===Other references===
* The experimental metalcore musical band [[The Dillinger Escape Plan]] is named for Dillinger.
* A tavern in the [[Greenbelt (Ayala Center)|Greenbelt 3]] shopping mall, in [[Makati]] in the Philippine Islands, is named "Dillinger 1903," referencing his name and year of birth.
* Dillinger is mentioned in 1973 Elton John's song "The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909–34)" from ''[[Goodbye Yellow Brick Road]]''.
* In [[The Simpsons]] episode "[[Treehouse of Horror IV]]", Dillinger appears as a member of the Jury of the Damned.
* [[Woody Allen]]'s character's failed prison escape in the movie ''[[Take the Money and Run (film)|Take the Money and Run]]'' is a parody of Dillinger's 1934 escape.
* In the movie ''[[High Fidelity (film)|High Fidelity]]'' the main character Rob references the shooting at the Biograph movie theater, but gets several details wrong, including who tipped off the federal agents.
* The song, "Reverie", by [[Protest the Hero]] (''[[Palimpsest (Protest the Hero album)|Palimpsest]]'', 2020) depicts Dillinger's hardening into "the meanest bastard you've ever seen" during incarceration.
* [[Headie One]] references Dillinger in his 2021 single "Siberia".
* Referenced in ''[[Seinfeld]]'' Season 4 "The Handicap Spot".
* Referenced in ''[[The Newsroom (American TV series)|The Newsroom]]'' Season 2, Episode 2 "The Genoa Tip".
* Referenced in ''[[The Americans]]'' Season 2, Episode 11, Stealth (38:23)
* Referenced in ''[[Breaking Bad]]'' Season 5, Episode 15, "Granite State" by Saul.

==Gallery of Dillinger Gang members==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="175">
File:Homer Van Meter.jpg|[[Homer Van Meter]]
File:John Hamilton.jpg|[[John Hamilton (gangster)|John Hamilton]]
File:Makley mug.jpg|[[Charles Makley]]
File:Eddie Green.jpg|[[Eddie Green (criminal)|Eddie Green]]
File:Baby Face Nelson 1931 mug shot.jpg|Lester Joseph Gillis ("[[Baby Face Nelson]]")
</gallery>

==See also==
((Portal|Indiana))
*[[Hotel Congress]]
*[[List of Depression-era outlaws]]
*[[The Dillinger Dossier]]
*[[The Terror Gang]]

==References==
((Reflist))

==Further reading==
* Beverly, William. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100312093029/http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/541 ''On the Lam: Narratives of Flight in J. Edgar Hoover's America'']. Jackson, Mississippi: [[University Press of Mississippi]]. 2003. ((ISBN|1-57806-537-2)).
* Burrough, Bryan. [http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780143035374,00.html ''Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34''] ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924112654/http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780143035374,00.html |date=2012-09-24 )). New York: [[Penguin Press]]. 2004. ((ISBN|1-59420-021-1)).
* Cromie, Robert and Pinkston, Joseph. ''Dillinger: A Short and Violent Life'' (1962)
* DeBartolo, Anthony. ''Dillinger's Dupes: Town Seeks To Preserve A Jail Yet Escape A Dastardly Deed''. ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''.
* Erickson, Matt and Bill Thornbro. ''John Dillinger: A Year in the Life.'' ''The Times of Northwest Indiana''.
* Girardin, G. Russell, Helmer, William J., Mattix, Rick. ''Dillinger: The Untold Story''.
* Gorn, Elliott J. ''Dillinger's Wild Ride: The Year That Made America's Public Enemy Number One'' (New York, OUP USA, 2009).
* Helmer, William J.; Mattix, Rick (1998). Public Enemies: America's Criminal Past, 1919–1940. New York City, New York: Facts on File. p.&nbsp;17. ((ISBN|0-8160-3160-6)).
* Peters, Robert. ''What Dillinger Meant to Me'' Seahorse Press 1983 (with link to complete text online)
* Toland, John. ''The Dillinger Days''. Random House 1963

== External links ==
((Commons category))
* ((OL subject|person:john_dillinger_(1903-1934)))

((Indiana history|state=collapsed))
((Authority control))

((DEFAULTSORT:Dillinger, John))
[[Category:John Dillinger| ]]
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1934 deaths]]
[[Category:American bank robbers]]
[[Category:American outlaws]]
[[Category:Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery]]
[[Category:Criminals from Indiana]]
[[Category:Criminals from Chicago]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Illinois]]
[[Category:Depression-era gangsters]]
[[Category:Deserters]]
[[Category:Escapees from Indiana detention]]
[[Category:Escapees from Ohio detention]]
[[Category:Fugitives]]
[[Category:Justifiable homicide]]
[[Category:People from Indianapolis]]
[[Category:People from Mooresville, Indiana]]
[[Category:People shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States]]
[[Category:United States Navy non-commissioned officers]]

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