Historical Figures

Al Capone (1899-1946)

Al Capone (photo:public domain)

Al Capone (1899-1946) - the most famous American gangster. Alphonse Gabriel Capone, better known as Al Capone, or Scarface, was born in New York in 1899 to a family of Italian immigrants from Naples. He finished five grades, and was expelled from the sixth grade for violence against a teacher. He gave her back after she slapped him. As a teenager, he started hanging out with New York gangs, and during one of the fights his opponent slashed his face in three places.

Capone married Mae Josephine Coughlin, with whom he had a son, Albert Francis "Sonny", before marriage. Due to his criminal activities, he had to flee New York. He moved to Chicago, where he continued his career, climbing more and more. In 1925, he became one of the city's top mobsters, steadily expanding his interests during Prohibition (illegal brewing and spirits smuggling) through corruption, intimidation and violence.

At the same time, he tried to be considered one of the leaders of the local community, therefore he was involved in charity actions, incl. supporting the poorest during the Great Depression. Finally, the authorities decided to get him at any cost. A special group of law enforcement officers was created for this purpose, led by Eliot Ness (the famous Untouchables). In 1931 he was convicted of non-payment of taxes.

Eventually, it ended up in the famous Alcatraz, where it was completely cut off from the outside world. During this time, his criminal empire began to crumble, largely due to the lifting of Prohibition, and Capone's position in the underworld fell drastically. The gangster's health deteriorated. Syphilis, which he contracted in his youth, entered the final stage, devastating him both mentally and physically. In January 1947, Al Capone first had a stroke, then pneumonia, and died within days.