Editing Ma Barker (section)

{{Distinguish|Kate Baker}}
{{short description|American mother of several criminals and Barker Gang leader (1873–1935)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name        = Kate Barker
| image       = Ma Barker.jpg
| caption     = Barker circa 1932
| birth_name  = Arizona Donnie Clark
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1873|10|8}}
| birth_place = [[Ash Grove, Missouri]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1935|1|16|1873|10|8}}
| death_place = [[Ocklawaha, Florida]], U.S.
| nationality = [[Americans|American]]
| cause       = [[Gunshot wound]]
| allegiance  = [[Barker–Karpis Gang]]
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|George Barker|1892|1924}}
* Arthur Dunlop (common law)
}}
| alias       = Ma Barker <br>Kate Barker<br>Rita Ma Barker
| children    = Herman Barker (1893–1927)<br>Lloyd Barker (1897–1949)<br>[[Arthur Barker]] (1899–1939)<br> [[Fred Barker]] (1901–1935)
}}

'''Kate Barker''' (born  
'''Arizona Donnie Clark'''; October 8, 1873 – January 16, 1935), better known as '''Ma Barker''' (and sometimes known as '''Arizona Barker''' and '''Arrie Barker'''), was the mother of a few American criminals who ran the [[Barker–Karpis Gang]] during the "[[Public enemy#US Public Enemy Era|public enemy era]]" when the exploits of gangs of criminals in the [[Midwestern United States]] gripped the American people and press. She traveled with her sons during their criminal careers.

Barker gained a reputation as a ruthless crime matriarch who controlled and organized her sons' crimes. [[J.&nbsp;Edgar Hoover]] described her as "the most vicious, dangerous, and resourceful criminal brain of the last decade". She has been presented as a monstrous mother in films, songs, and literature. Those who knew her insisted that she had no criminal role and that Hoover created the allegations to justify her shooting by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] in 1935. Later reports consistently conclude that Kate Barker's role in her sons' crimes was falsely created by the media to increase newspaper and media sales.