Charles Arthur Floyd, nicknamed Pretty Boy Floyd, was an American bank robber.
Due to his many robberies, Floyd gained notoriety and widespread press coverage in the 1930's.
Who was Pretty Boy Floyd?
Pretty Boy Floyd was an American gangster born on February 3, 1904, in Georgia, USA.
His name became synonymous with front page headlines due to his often-violent bank robberies and police standoffs.
Floyd's early life saw his family move to Oklahoma and struggled to make ends meet.
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He was originally a farmer but was drawn to a life of crime in a bid to escape his poverty.
At only 18, Floyd was arrested after being caught for stealing at a local post office.
Aged 21, Floyd was arrested again but during his prison stint he began mixing with gangsters who began hatching plans to rob banks.
He quickly became the leader of the gang with their plans coming to fruition becoming one of the most famous bank robbers of the time.
Despite his life of crime, he was seen positively by the public as it was believed while operating his bank robberies, he would burn mortgage documents freeing many people from their debts.
This unselfish act earned him the title of “The Robin Hood of the Cookson Hills”.
Which banks did Pretty Boy Floyd rob?
In 1925, Floyd robbed the Tower Grove Bank in St. Louis Missouri – his biggest robbery and was arrested two days later.
In 1930, he robbed the Farmers & Merchants Bank in Sylvania, Ohio and was arrested three days later but managed to escape while on route to prison.
His other robberies included:
- The Bank of Earlsboro, Oklahoma
- The Mount Zion Deposit Bank, Kentucky
- An unknown bank in Ohio
- The Citizens Bank of Shamrock in Oklahoma
- The Morris State Bank in Oklahoma
- The First National Bank in Oklahoma
- The Bank of Earlsboro in Oklahoma
- The First National Bank of Konawa in Oklahoma
- The Morris State Bank in Morris Oklahoma
- The First State Bank in Oklahoma
- An unknown bank in Meeker, Oklahoma
- First State Bank in Oklahoma
- Sallisaw State Bank in Oklahoma
- An unknown bank in Missouri
- An unknown bank in Oklahoma
- An unknown bank in Oklahoma.
How did Pretty Boy Floyd die?
Due to his high numbers of bank robberies and the many deaths which culminated from these, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) named Floyd "Public Enemy No. 1" on July 23, 1934.
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He was eventually spotted by lawmakers and attempted to escape on foot.
According to FBI reports, Floyd had a .45-caliber automatic pistol in his right hand and officers fired.
Floyd’s final words were, “I’m done for; you’ve hit me twice” and died on October 22, 1934, 15 minutes after being shot.