John Dillinger John was born on June 22, 1903, in the Oak Hill section of Indianapolis. John is the youngest of two children. He had an sister Audrey. John was nicknamed “Johnnie” as a child. John’s parents were John Wilson Dillinger and Mary Ellen "Molly" Lancaster. John’s family did not live in poverty; he was born into a middle class family. John’s mother was a stay at home mother, and his father owned a local grocery store. Molly had a stroke just before John turn four and passed away. Audrey, who was 15 at the time, took on the role of John’s primary caregiver until his dad remarried in 1912. His father and his stepmother would go on to have 3 children of their own. His dad was said to have a non constant disciplinarian actions. “He would beat Johnnie for his insubordination, and then turn around and give him money for candy. When Johnnie was in his teens, his dad would alternate between locking Johnnie in the house all day and then, later in the week, letting him roam the neighborhood for most of the night.” (A+E Networks, 2013, Pg.1) Dillinger was frequently in trouble with the law for fighting, petty theft, and bullying smaller children. Johnnie was known to be a good student in school. When he was 16, he dropped out of school because he was bored. He wanted to get a job and earn a living. His employer said that he was a good, hard-working boy, but his father did not like the path that John had taken. His dad sold his grocery store and their house to move to a farm in Mooresville, Indiana. He did this in hopes that a change in scenery would get Johnnie back on the right track. This did not work; John kept his job and rode his motorcycle 18 miles to get there from the new farm. John suffered from some depression after his mother passed. His mother died just before his fourth birthday. His older sister was his primary care giver until their father remarried. John did not like his step-mother and still missed his mother. His father was said to be a harsh punisher when he did punish John. Many believe that this led John to have psychological problems but believe that he was not psychotic. He controlled this very well. “While it is clear that Dillinger had his share of psychological problems, it is also evident that he was not psychotic. Dillinger exhibited none of the five main symptoms of Psychosis. He was not delusional; he had a clear grasp on reality. He did not suffer from hallucinations, his behavior and speech were not disorganized, and he did not display any sort of generic negative symptoms. Likewise, Dillinger showed none of the signs for Schizophrenia. It is most probable that Dillinger suffered from Antisocial Personality Disorder. His actions include impulsivity, “His wild and rebellious behavior would continue through his teens with nightly escapades which included, drinking, fighting, and visiting prostitutes.” (A+E Networks, 2013, Pg. 2) John Dillinger’s criminal career has had much attention, and is still talked about in the 21st century. “From September 1933 until July 1934, he and his violent gang terrorized the Midwest, killing 10 men, wounding 7 others, robbing banks and police arsenals, and staging 3 jail breaks—killing a sheriff during one and wounding 2 guards in another.” (FBI, 2012) Dillinger and his gang were responsible for 12 bank robberies. Some included the robberies of the New Carlisle National Bank, New Carlisle, Ohio, of $10,000 on June 10, 1933; The Commercial Bank, Daleville, Indiana, of $3,500 on July 17, 1933; Montpelier National Bank, Montpelier, Indiana, of $6,700 on August 4, 1933, and Central National Bank And Trust Co, Greencastle, Indiana, of $74,000 on October 23, 1933, to name a few. Because of his criminal actions “the government demanded federal action, and J. Edgar Hoover developed a more sophisticated Federal Bureau of Investigation as a weapon against organized crime and used Dillinger and his gang as his campaign
