John Herbert Dillinger was born June 22, 1903, in Indianapolis, to grocer John Wilson Dillinger and his wife Mollie. As a child, he lived in the Oak Hill neighborhood and attended Public School #38. Later, he attended Arsenal Technical High School, only to drop out at age 16.
Concerned that his son was falling in with a bad crowd, Dillinger Sr. bought a farm and moved the family to Mooresville. However, it wasn’t the solution he’d hoped. Trouble seemed to follow young John.
After a brief stint in the Navy, the younger Dillinger attempted to rob a Mooresville grocer and wound up serving eight-and-a-half years in prison. Once paroled, he began the crime spree that would lead J. Edgar Hoover to name him Public Enemy #1.
Indiana Infamy 
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