Al Capone, The Big Fella

Al Capone, the Big Fella, was named one of the most notorious gangsters of all time. Capone was a bootlegger during the Prohibition Era in the Roaring Twenties. Capone prospered off the prohibition of alcohol. Throughout his life as a gangster he moved up in ranks and led himself to the top of the bootlegging industry. If there never was a prohibition, he would have never been as known as he is today. Capone was born into a family of Italian Immigrants on January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Gabriel and Teresina Capone. He grew up in a rough neighborhood and he was a member of two “kid” gangs, the Brooklyn Rippers and the Forty Thieves Juniors (History Files). He grew up with eight brothers and sisters. His brothers, Frank and Ralph both worked with him as gangsters. Capone was a bright student, but later dropped out of school in the sixth grade at age fourteen. He dropped out of school because he slapped a female teacher in the face. Later in 1918 at the age of nineteen, Capone met his wife, Mary “Mae” Coughlin, at a dance. In December of 1918, right after they had their only child, Albert “Sonny” Capone, they got married. Soon after dropping out of school, Capone joined the Five Points Gang in Manhattan. Capone worked in the Harvard Inn as a bouncer and bartender, this is where he got his famous nickname, “Scarface.” Capone hated
The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre took place on February 14, 1929, hence the name. The massacre happened when several police officers approached seven members of the Bugs Moran’s North Side Gang. The officers lined the gang members up on a wall and gunned them down with Thompson submachine guns and shotguns. Despite the crimes in the 1920s, Capone was still seen as a Robin Hood to the people because he made charitable donations