Editing John Dillinger (section)

{{Short description|American bank robber (1903–1934)}}
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{{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]], Illinois, U.S.
| death_cause        = [[Gunshot wounds]]
| spouse             = Beryl Hovious (divorced),<br />[[Evelyn Frechette]] (common law relationship),<br />Polly Hamilton (common law relationship)
| criminal_charge    = Desertion from US Navy, 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}};<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://coopertoons.com/caricatures/dillinger_purvis_hoover_bio.html |title=Edgar and Melvin and John }}Coopertoon website; "''John Herbert Dillinger was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 22, 1903. Today the name is inevitably pronounced "DILL-in-jer" with a soft "g". '''However, some newscasters of the time pronounced the name with a hard "g" as in "grrrrr" which seems to have been the preference of Johnnie's ancestors.'''''"</ref> 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 twenty-four banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and escaped twice. He was charged with but not convicted of the murder of [[East Chicago, Indiana]] police officer William O'Malley, who shot Dillinger in his [[bullet-proof vest]] during a [[shootout]];<ref>{{cite news|url= 
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/family-remembers-true-hero-of-dillingers-story/article_9731eaa2-4f1d-56b9-9182-43a66d21a723.html|title=Family remembers "true hero" of Dillinger's story|last=Quilligan|first=Kathleen|agency=The Times of Northwest Indiana|date=April 6, 2008|accessdate=April 15, 2025}}</ref> 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]]-type figure.<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.com/business-money/companies/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 justification to evolve the BOI into the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI), 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 in a gunfight 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 left the theater, he attempted to flee but was fatally shot; the lethal use of force by the agents would eventually be 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>