John Hamilton (gangster)
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
.
Prison break
Little is known of John Hamilton's life prior to his criminal career. On March 16, 1927, he was convicted of the robbery of a gas station in St. JosephSt. Joseph County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 265,559 people, 100,743 households, and 66,792 families residing in the county. The population density was 581 people per square mile . There were 107,013 housing units at an average density of 234 per square mile...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, and sentenced to 25 years. While incarcerated in Indiana State Prison
Indiana State Prison
The Indiana State Prison is a maximum security Indiana Department of Corrections prison for adult males; however, minimum security housing also exists on the confines. It is located in Michigan City, Indiana, about east of Chicago. The average daily inmate population in November 2006 was 2,200. ...
in Michigan City
Michigan City, Indiana
Michigan City's origins date to 1830, when the land for the city was first purchased by Isaac C. Elston. Elston Middle School, formerly Elston High School, located at 317 Detroit St., is named after the founder....
, Hamilton befriended a number of prominent bank robbers, such as John Dillinger
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
, Russell Clark
Russell Clark (criminal)
Russell Lee "Boobie" Clark was an American thief, bank robber and prison escapee. He is best known as the "good natured" member of the John Dillinger gang and participated in armed holdups with them in a three-month crime spree across the Midwestern United States from October 1933 until his...
, Charles Makley
Charles Makley
Charles Makley , also known as Charles McGray and Fat Charles, was an American criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger....
, Harry Pierpont
Harry Pierpont
Harry Pierpont was a Prohibition era gangster. He is perhaps most noted for being a friend and mentor of John Dillinger....
and Homer Van Meter
Homer Van Meter
Homer "Wayne" Van Meter was an American criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson.-Early life:...
.
Dillinger was paroled in May 1933, but swore to liberate his friends, and had handguns smuggled in to Hamilton, Makley, Pierpont, Clark and several other convicts. On September 26, 1933, a total of ten armed men, including Hamilton, escaped from the main gate of Indiana State Prison
Indiana State Prison
The Indiana State Prison is a maximum security Indiana Department of Corrections prison for adult males; however, minimum security housing also exists on the confines. It is located in Michigan City, Indiana, about east of Chicago. The average daily inmate population in November 2006 was 2,200. ...
.
Crime spree
Soon afterwards the gang learned that DillingerJohn Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
had in the meantime been arrested for bank robbery
Bank robbery
Bank robbery is the crime of stealing from a bank during opening hours. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, robbery is "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of...
and was being detained at the Allen County
Allen County, Ohio
Allen County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. Its population was 106,331 as of the 2010 census. It is included in the Lima, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Lima–Van Wert–Wapakoneta Combined Statistical Area....
jail in Lima
Lima, Ohio
Lima is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwestern Ohio along Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton and south-southwest of Toledo....
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. Determined to free Dillinger, the gang needed cash to fund an escape. On October 3, 1933, the gang robbed the First National Bank of St. Mary's
St. Marys, Ohio
St. Marys is a city in Auglaize County, Ohio, United States. The population was 8,342 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Wapakoneta, Ohio, Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, escaping with $14,000.
Nine days later, Hamilton accompanied Charles Makley
Charles Makley
Charles Makley , also known as Charles McGray and Fat Charles, was an American criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger....
, Harry Pierpont
Harry Pierpont
Harry Pierpont was a Prohibition era gangster. He is perhaps most noted for being a friend and mentor of John Dillinger....
, Russell Clark and Ed Shouse to the Lima
Lima, Ohio
Lima is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwestern Ohio along Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton and south-southwest of Toledo....
jail where Dillinger
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
was being held, although he did not enter the building, and did not participate in Makley and Pierpont's murder of Ohio Sheriff Jesse Sarber.
On December 13, 1933, Hamilton and several other gangsters executed an armed invasion of a Chicago bank, to empty its safe deposit box
Safe deposit box
A safe deposit box or wrongly referred to as a safety deposit box is an individually-secured container, usually held within a larger safe or bank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in banks, post offices or other institutions...
es, netting the gang as much as $50,000. A day later, after Hamilton had left his car at a Chicago garage for some body work, the garage's mechanic called police with his suspicion that it was a "gangster car". When Hamilton returned to pick up the car and found Sergeant William Shanley and two other officers waiting to question him, he opened fire, killing Shanley, and managing to elude capture by the other two officers.
On January 15, 1934, Hamilton, Dillinger
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
and Harry Pierpont
Harry Pierpont
Harry Pierpont was a Prohibition era gangster. He is perhaps most noted for being a friend and mentor of John Dillinger....
robbed a bank in East Chicago
East Chicago, Indiana
East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census.-Geography:East Chicago is located at ....
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, for $20,376. During the heist, Indiana Patrolman William O'Malley was shot dead. Dillinger was officially charged with the murder, but several witnesses indicated that Hamilton was the shooter. By the end of the year, Hamilton found himself ranked third on Indiana's list of "public enemies
Public enemy (term)
Public enemy is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though in fact the term had been used for centuries to describe pirates and similar outlaws.The modern use of term...
", after Dillinger
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
and Harry Pierpont
Harry Pierpont
Harry Pierpont was a Prohibition era gangster. He is perhaps most noted for being a friend and mentor of John Dillinger....
.
Hamilton, himself shot in during the East Chicago robbery, was left in the care of underworld physician Joseph Moran
Joseph P. Moran
Joseph P. Moran was a doctor known for catering to the Depression-era criminal underworld in the early 20th century. He was also a peripheral member of the Barker-Karpis gang, and was possibly the last physician to see the mortally wounded John Hamilton, a member of the John Dillinger gang, whom...
, while Dillinger and the others headed to Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, where they were apprehended by the authorities. After this incident, for a short time, Hamilton was at the top of the public enemies list, until Dillinger managed to escape yet again, and mustered a new gang that consisted of Hamilton, Homer Van Meter
Homer Van Meter
Homer "Wayne" Van Meter was an American criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson.-Early life:...
, Tommy Carroll
Tommy Carroll (criminal)
Thomas Leonard "Tommy" Carroll was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. A boxer-turned-criminal, he committed numerous robberies during the 1920s and 30s as well as being a longtime member of the Dillinger gang....
, Eddie Green, and Baby Face Nelson
Baby Face Nelson
Lester Joseph Gillis , known under the pseudonym George Nelson, was a bank robber and murderer in the 1930s. Gillis was known as Baby Face Nelson, a name given to him due to his youthful appearance and small stature...
.
Hamilton subsequently accompanied the gang on a string of lucrative but chaotic armed robberies. During a bank heist in Mason City
Mason City, Iowa
Mason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties....
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Hamilton was wounded yet again, even though he had been wearing a bulletproof vest
Bulletproof vest
A ballistic vest, bulletproof vest or bullet-resistant vest is an item of personal armor that helps absorb the impact from firearm-fired projectiles and shrapnel from explosions, and is worn on the torso...
. Now the subjects of a massive manhunt and media campaign, Hamilton and Dillinger made a discreet visit to Hamilton's sister's home in Sault Sainte Marie
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, on April 17. After returning to Chicago, the gang retreated to the Little Bohemia
Little Bohemia Lodge
The Little Bohemia Lodge in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin was the site of the 1934 gun battle between John Dillinger and his gang, and Melvin Purvis and the FBI. The Lodge was built in 1927, suffered a fire in 1928, and was rebuilt in 1930...
resort near Rhinelander
Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Rhinelander is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States. Its population was 7,735 at the 2000 census.-Claim to fame:...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. On April 22, the place was raided by the FBI under the direction of Melvin Purvis
Melvin Purvis
Melvin Horace Purvis, Jr. was an American law enforcement official and Federal Bureau of Investigation agent. He was given the nickname "Little Mel" because of his short stature...
, who had received a tip about the gang's whereabouts. One civilian was killed, and two wounded. The gang, following an escape plan it had mapped out days before, escaped entirely.
Death and rumors of survival
A day later, on April 23, Hamilton, DillingerJohn Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
and Homer Van Meter
Homer Van Meter
Homer "Wayne" Van Meter was an American criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson.-Early life:...
were again confronted by authorities in Hastings, Minnesota
Hastings, Minnesota
Hastings is a city in Dakota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, near the confluence of the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers. The population was 22,172 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Dakota County. The bulk of Hastings is in Dakota County; only a small part of the city extends...
, and another shootout ensued. Hamilton was mortally wounded by a bullet as he and the rest of the gang escaped in a car. The gang again took him to see doctor Joseph Moran in Chicago. For some reason, Moran refused to treat Hamilton. Dillinger then hid the dying Hamilton with Volney Davis
Volney Davis
Volney Curley Davis was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. A longtime Oklahoma bandit, he was the boyfriend of Edna Murray and an associate of both the John Dillinger and Alvin Karpis-Barker gangs during the 1930s.-Biography:Born in Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma, Volney Davis's...
and Edna Murray
Edna Murray
Edna "Rabbits" Murray was a Depression-era outlaw and partner of Volney Davis during the early 1930s. Although popularly known to the press as the "Kissing Bandit" for her habit of kissing male robbery victims, she was known in the underworld as "Rabbits" for her skill as an escape artist.Her...
in Aurora
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Hamilton reportedly died on April 30, 1934. Dillinger and Davis buried their friend, and Dillinger reportedly covered Hamilton's face and hands with lye
Lye
Lye is a corrosive alkaline substance, commonly sodium hydroxide or historically potassium hydroxide . Previously, lye was among the many different alkalis leached from hardwood ashes...
, to hinder any later attempt to identify the body.
Not yet knowing that Hamilton had died almost three weeks prior, authorities indicted him on May 19 of harboring fugitives. Hamilton's sister was convicted of the same charge, and spent a short time in prison. Hamilton's grave was discovered on August 28, 1935, the body identified from Hamilton's prison dental records.
There were at the time several persistent rumors that Hamilton was actually still alive. The FBI received numerous tips from people claiming to have seen or heard from Hamilton. Even Hamilton's nephew maintained that he had personally visited his uncle in Canada since his supposed death.
Nevertheless, no hard evidence for Hamilton's survival has ever been discovered save for the amalgam restorations done on his teeth. These were compared with his dental records from Indiana state penitentiary.
Portrayal
- In the 1965 film Young Dillinger, John Hamilton was portrayed by actor Dan Terranova.
- In the 1991 TV movie Dillinger, Hamilton was portrayed by actor John PhilbinJohn PhilbinJohn Philbin is an American surfer who has appeared in television and film.John first began acting in high school, around the same time he began surfing. Choosing acting over wrestling, John joined a drama team that went on to win awards throughout his high school career. Upon leaving high school,...
. - Hamilton's last days are the subject of the Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
short story The Death of Jack HamiltonThe Death of Jack HamiltonThe Death of Jack Hamilton is a short story by Stephen King. It was originally published in the December 24/31, 2001 issue of The New Yorker magazine. In 2002, it was collected in King's collection Everything's Eventual...
. - In the 2009 film Public Enemies, Jason ClarkeJason Clarke (actor)Jason Clarke is an Australian actor.-Life and career:Clarke has made many television appearances, including Murder Call, Wildside, Home and Away, Blue Heelers, All Saints, Farscape, White Collar Blue and Stingers...
plays the role of Hamilton.