Hells Angels Motorcycle Club
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|
| Motto |
"Angels Forever, Forever Angels" (traditional) "When we do right, nobody remembers. When we do wrong, nobody forgets." (unspecific, one-percenter saying) |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 17, 1948 |
| Leader title | National President |
| Key people | Sonny Barger |
| Type | Outlaw motorcycle club |
| Region | Worldwide (425 chapters in 50 countries) |
| Website | www |
| Abbreviation | HA, 81, HAMC |
"Angels Forever, Forever Angels" (traditional)
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The organization is "predominantly white male" and is considered an organized crime syndicate by the United States Department of Justice. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Common nicknames for the club are the "H.A.", "Red & White", "HAMC" and "81".
The Hells Angels were started on March 17, 1948, by the Bishop family, and Ottio Fredili World War II veterans in Fontana, California followed by an amalgamation of former members from different motorcycle clubs, such as the Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington. The Hells Angels' website denies the suggestion that any misfit or malcontent troops are connected with the motorcycle club. The website also notes that the name was suggested by Arvid Olsen, an associate of the founders, who had served in the Flying Tigers' "Hell's Angels" squadron in China during World War II. The name "Hell's Angels" was inspired by the typical naming of American squadrons, or other fighting groups, with a fierce, death-defying title in World Wars I and II, e.g., the Flying Tigers (American Volunteer Group) in Burma and China fielded three squadrons of P-40s and the third Squadron was called "Hell's Angels". In 1930, the Howard Hughes film Hell's Angels displayed extraordinary and dangerous feats of aviation, and it is believed that the World War II groups who used that name based it on the film.
Some of the early history of the HAMC is not clear, and accounts differ. According to Ralph "Sonny" Barger, founder of the Oakland chapter, early chapters of the club were founded in San Francisco, Gardena, Fontana, Oakland and elsewhere, with the members usually being unaware that there were other clubs. One of the lesser known clubs existed in North Chino/South Pomona, in the late 1960s.
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Wikipedia