Baby Face Nelson
| Baby Face Nelson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
December 6, 1908 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | November 27, 1934 (aged 25) Wilmette, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Gangster, bank robber |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Gillis |
| Children | Ronald and Darlene |
Lester Joseph Gillis (December 6, 1908 – November 27, 1934), known by the alias George Nelson, better known as Baby Face Nelson, was an American bank robber in the 1930s. Gillis was given the nickname Baby Face due to his youthful appearance and small stature, although few dared call him "Baby Face" to his face. Criminal associates instead called him "Jimmy". Nelson entered into a partnership with John Dillinger, helping him escape from prison during the famed Crown Point, Indiana Jail escape, and was later labeled along with the remaining gang members as public enemy number one.
Nelson was responsible for killing more FBI agents in the line of duty (three: W. Carter Baum, Herman Hollis, and Samuel P. Cowley) than any other person. Nelson was fatally shot by FBI agents during a shootout called The Battle of Barrington.
Lester Joseph Gillis was born December 6, 1908, in Chicago, Illinois.
On July 4, 1916, at the age of seven, Nelson was arrested after accidentally shooting a playmate in the jaw with a pistol he had found. He served over a year in the state reformatory. Arrested again for theft and joyriding at the age of 13, he was sent to a penal school for an additional 18 months.
Nelson became gang-affiliated during his mid-teens and immediately became the leader of the gang. In 1928, Nelson met and married Helen Wawzynak. The couple had two children.
By the time he met Helen, Nelson was working at a Standard Oil station in his neighborhood which doubled as the headquarters for a group of young tire thieves, known colloquially as "strippers". Nelson fell into association with the strippers, and also acquainted himself with a number of local criminals, including one who employed him to drive bootleg alcohol throughout the Chicago suburbs. Nelson then became associated with members of the suburban-based Touhy Gang (rather than the Capone mob, as usually reported).
Within two years, Nelson and the gang were involved in organized crime, especially armed robbery. On January 6, 1930, the associates forced entry into the home of a magazine executive named Charles M. Richter. After trussing him up with adhesive tape and cutting the phone lines, they ransacked the house and made off with approximately $25,000 worth of jewelry (equivalent to approximately $360,000 in 2017 dollars). Two months later, they carried out a similar robbery at the bungalow of Lottie Brenner Von Buelow (on Sheridan Road). This job netted approximately $50,000 worth of jewelry. After the crime, a number of Chicago newspapers nicknamed the group "The Tape Bandits."
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