Al Capone facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Al Capone |
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![]() Al Capone in 1930
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Born | Alphonse Gabriel Capone January 17, 1899 New York City, U.S. |
Died | January 25, 1947 Palm Island, Florida, U.S. |
(aged 48)
Alias(es) | Scarface, Big Al, Big Boy, Public Enemy No. 1 |
Charge(s) | Tax evasion |
Penalty | 11-year sentence in Atlanta U.S. Penitentiary and Alcatraz |
Occupation | Gangster, bootlegger, racketeer, boss of Chicago Outfit |
Spouse |
Mae Coughlin
(m. 1918) |
Children | 1 |
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947) was an Italian-American gangster. He grew up in Brooklyn and moved to Chicago where he led a crime syndicate (a group of gangsters who run organized crime) in the Prohibition-era that was known as the "Capones." The Capones were known for smuggling and bootlegging liquor in Chicago, Illinois, from around the 1920s until 1931. Capone's organized crime reign ended in 1931, when he was put on trial for federal income tax evasion. Found guilty, Capone was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Capone was released from his sentence in 1939, being very sick. He regained consciousness and caught pneumonia and later had a fatal cardiac arrest. On January 25, 1947, Al Capone suffered a stroke and died in his home, surrounded by his family. Michael Jackson made a song called "Al Capone" for his 1987 album Bad. It was not put on the album. The song was released on the second disc of the 25th Anniversary re-release of Bad.
Al Capone quotes
- “Be careful who you call your friends. I’d rather have four quarters than one hundred pennies.”
- “Don't mistake my kindness for weakness. I am kind to everyone, but when someone is unkind to me, weak is not what you are going to remember about me.”
- I am like any other man. All I do is supply a demand."
- "When I sell liquor, it's bootlegging. When my patrons serve it on a silver tray on Lakeshore Drive, it's hospitality."
Interesting facts about Al Capone
- Al Capone was nicknamed Scarface.
- Al had street smarts. He left school in middle school.
- After dropping out of school, Al Capone joined several different young gangs such as South Brooklyn Rippers, Forty Thieves Juniors, and James Street Boys.
- Capone worked odd jobs after leaving school and played semi-pro baseball with his brother Ralph.
- It is believed that Capone organized the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
- He was among the earliest federal prisoners at Alcatraz.
Images for kids
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Unemployed men outside a soup kitchen opened by Capone in Chicago during the Depression, February 1931
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Capone's cell at the now decommissioned Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, where he spent about nine months starting in May 1929
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Capone's grave in Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois
See also
In Spanish: Al Capone para niños