John Herbert Dillinger: A Brief Biography

Born June 22, 1903, John Herbert Dillinger, also known as the notorious “Public Enemy Number One,” grew up knowing just what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to live a life of excitement and to just be free of anyone telling him how he should live and what career choices to make. According History.com “His exploits during the depth of the Great Depression made him a headline news, celebrity and one of the most feared gangsters of the 20th century.”(2) Yes, Dillinger was one of the most feared gangsters. He robbed banks, stole cars, and had shootouts with police. He may not have intended on becoming a notorious gangster but he did what it took to live his life the way he wanted, even in his earl youth. People who have met Dillinger seemed
However Dillinger did try to settle down and have a normal life. He went back home and marries seventeen year old Beryl Ethel Hovious, sadly the marriage only lasted about two years. He played baseball as a shortstop, where he met Edgar Singleton, a relative of his stepmother. Dillinger and Singleton formed a friendship. From then on Dillinger’s life of crime had really taken off. Dillinger met Singleton in 1924 while playing shortstop on a local baseball team, this is when he encouraged Dillinger to rob the local grocery store. Singleton told Dillinger that it would be easy to rob the elderly man, so, he agreed to rob the man in his store while Singleton waited in a getaway car. There was a slight struggle, Dillinger had a gun and tried to hit the man over the head with a bolt, and the man grabbed it. When he did, the gun went off. Thinking he had shot the grocer, Dillinger went running down the street where he thought Singleton would be but he wasn’t. According to History.com, “There he met and befriended Edgar Singleton. He told Dillinger of a local grocer who would be carrying his daily receipts on his way from work to the barbershop. Singleton suggested Dillinger could easily rob the elderly grocer for the cash he would be carrying while Singleton waited for him in a getaway car down the street. The incident did not go well. Dillinger was armed with a .32 caliber and pistol and a large