The Untold Truth Of John Dillinger

Not every outlaw, bank robber, and villain comes from a broken home, but it's never especially surprising when you find out that someone who misbehaves as an adult also misbehaved as a child. And misbehaving children often have trauma in their history, or at the very least lack the sort of adult guidance that can put them on more of a non-outlawy path.

John Dillinger lost his mom when he was very small — she died from a stroke when he was just 4 years old. According to History, his dad was an inconsistent disciplinarian who would beat him up and lock him in the house, but then let him roam around the neighborhood at night. Shockingly, kid Dillinger developed a rebellious streak. He became the leader of a street gang called "The Dirty Dozen," which mostly just ran around the neighborhood pranking people and stealing things.

Despite the pranks and petty theft, most of Dillinger's former neighbors would later say he was a cheerful and likable kid. Nothing like rose-colored "I once knew that celebrity" glasses, right? The truth was probably much less sunny, though. There were also reports of teenaged antics that included "malicious behavior," so all was clearly not right with Dillinger even when he was a youth. By 16, John Dillinger had dropped out of school. He held down a job but would regularly visit prostitutes, drink, and get into fights, and really it was pretty much downhill from there.