There have been many infamous lawbreakers in history, but John Dillinger was the first criminal labeled by the FBI as "Public Enemy No. 1."
After spending nine years (1924–33) in prison, Dillinger went on a deadly crime spree with his gang, traveling through the states of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. They killed numerous people, robbed multiple banks, and even raided police arsenals. FBI agents shot and killed Dillinger on July 22, 1934, as he left Chicago's Biograph Movie Theater.
Discover more digitized records related to John Dillinger in our Catalog.
Thanks to all of you who have bought my book "Fort Wayne in a Nutshell" on Amazon! Fort Wayne in a Nutshell: A Cartoon Retrospective by Steve Smeltzer I don't know everyone who has bought the book because Amazon doesn't tell me the names of the purchasers. With that in mind, thanks very much to all of you who have bought the book and/or left very kind reviews! You guys are the BEST!! Here's an actual page sample in case you'd like to take a peek at one of the 75 cartoon pages.
[ Interesting to note that searching historic newspapers show dozens of newspapers coast to coast across the country published similar Dillinger news stories on the same days. ]
Dillinger was locked up in the Lima, Allen County, Ohio jail, when 3 members of his gang broke him out while killing the sheriff. They also stole a machine gun and a small arsenal of guns in 1933 from the Auburn, DeKalb County, Indiana police department north of Fort Wayne. The machine gun might have been responsible for the deaths of some of the 13 police officers killed by Dillinger and his gang. March 6, 2014, the gun was returned to Auburn. Dillinger legend finds its mark Gun stolen from Auburn police in 1933 finally makes it home by Frank Gray published March 7, 2014 in The Journal Gazette newspaper. View Piece of History with Violent Past Returns to Auburn video by Eric Olson March 7, 2014 Indiana NewsCenter archived on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
At the 2:35 minute mark of the video is the screenshot showing the April 19, 1971 Cashier Tucker Shot At Thieves It Didn't Pay to Rob Bank at HuntertownThe Journal Gazette newspaper article and at 2:25 the three Dillenger Gang members are shown below who tried to rob the Huntertown State Bank from the story Linda Likes It: New Home for Love, Katiedid Forever Flora in Huntertown Shop is now located in the front unit of the old Huntertown State Bank building by Linda Jackson February 23, 2024 on 21AliveNews.com.
ON THIS DAY // On March 3, 1934, John Dillinger escaped from the Crown Point Jail, stole Sheriff Lillian Holley’s car, and headed for Chicago. You can visit the John Dillinger Museum in Crown Point, Indiana to view the infamous wooden gun that Dillinger used to escape the Crown Point Jail.
On March 3, 1934, notorious bank robber John Dillinger broke out of the Lake County Jail in Crown Point, where he awaited trial for his role in the robbery of the First National Bank of East Chicago and murder of an East Chicago police officer. Dillinger used a wooden pistol to intimidate inmates and jailers before fleeing from the "escape proof" jail and making a getaway in the sheriff’s personal car.
Police shot and killed Dillinger on July 22 in front of the Biograph Theater in Chicago, where he and a companion had watched the gangster film Manhattan Melodrama.
The image of Dillinger below, showing him during his 1934 court hearing, is courtesy of the Indiana Album.
Dillinger gang members buried in Fort Wayne cemeteries
Front page of the August 24, 1934 The Journal Gazette newspaper was used with permission of The Journal Gazette newspaper.
Homer Van Meter was born December 3, 1906 in Fort Wayne to Cary B. Van Meter and his wife Julia Miller. Homer was a get-away driver for John Dillinger. He was gunned down August 23, 1934 in St. Paul, Minnesota and is buried in Lindenwood Cemetery Section 4, Block 4, Row 2, Space 10 from Homer Virgil Van Meter on Find A Grave.
A newspaper article Dillinger cohort lures curious to local digs by Jeff Wiehe published July 3, 2009 in The Journal Gazette newspaper discussed Homer Van Meter.
Many celebrities count Fort Wayne as their hometown, but not all of them were on the right side of the law. One such man, Homer Van Meter, born December 3, 1905, turned to a life of crime and eventually became a member of John Dillinger’s “Terror Gang.” As member of the Dillinger gang, Van Meter was in charge of identifying and scoping out potential robbery targets. Homer Van Meter’s luck ran out, exactly 85 years ago today on August 23, 1934, when police in St. Paul, Minnesota shot him dead. Following his death, Van Meter’s body was released to Robert Klaehn & Sons’ funeral home for his burial in Fort Wayne. Today we remember the death of one of Fort Wayne’s most infamous sons. #sociallyhistory
Many celebrities count Fort Wayne as their hometown, but not all of them were on the right side of the law. One such man, Homer Van Meter, born December 3, 1905, turned to a life of crime and eventually became a member of John Dillinger’s “Terror Gang.” In March of 1925, Van Meter was arrested, tried and convicted for trying to rob train passengers in Crown Point, Indiana, for which he was sentenced to 10-21 years in prison. Van Meter wrote letters, believed to have been written in January-March of 1933, to two relatives in Fort Wayne expressing contrition for his criminal actions, and requesting that they support his attempt to gain parole. Exactly 90 years ago today, on May 19, 1933 Van Meter was granted parole. This did not stop his life of crime, he later joined Dillinger in robbing several banks and was eventually killed by police in St. Paul, Minnesota on August 23, 1934. #sociallyhistory
Coins and flowers have been placed on Homer Van Meter's gravestone for many years. Some sources claim coins on gravestones are intended as a memorial to veterans. His stone was empty when I first photographed it in 2003. A newspaper article Tombstones tell tales Mementos of all types dot landscape of city cemeteries Terri Richardson October 22, 2019 in The Journal Gazette newspaper discusses leaving coins and objects on tombstones.
With Memorial Day coming upon us you may notice coins left upon headstones of veterans. Do you know what each of these coins represents?#memorialday#memorialdayweekend#military
Looking to "liven up" your Monday evening? Join us tomorrow for our "Dearly Departed" tour of historic Lindenwood Cemetery, and learn about more than a dozen of Fort Wayne's famous former residents. This FREE tour - a 3 Rivers Festival event - is from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Hope to see you there
Three Fort Wayne men are shown on page 280 in the book Dillinger: The Untold Story by George Russell Girardin, William J. Helmer, Rick Mattix, 2004 a Google ebook.
Samuel Goldstine (1890-1975) died May 19, 1975 also on page 280 is buried in Section Y, Lot 50 in Lindenwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne. See his Samuel Goldstine Memorial on Find A Grave. Another Samuel Goldstein was mistakenly thought to be Dillinger's gang member dying in jail July 22, 1939 in Lima, Allen County, Ohio on the 5th anniversary of Dillinger's death. He is shown on page 280 of the book below:
