19th Century American Criminals

Rank the Most Wicked 19th Century American Criminals

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 1 
H. H. Holmes
(American Serial Killer and Con Artist)
H. H. Holmes
84
Birthdate: May 16, 1861
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Gilmanton, New Hampshire, United States
Died: May 7, 1896
American serial killer H.H. Holmes was sentenced to death for the murder of his accomplice Benjamin Pitezel but confessed to 27 murders and might have killed almost 200 people. He had set up a hotel, later known as the Murder Castle, specifically for this purpose. He inspired a bestselling book.
 2 
Billy the Kid
84
Birthdate: November 17, 1859
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Manhattan
Died: July 14, 1881

Billy the Kid was a gunfighter of the American Old West whose notoriety grew when he escaped from jail after killing two sheriff's deputies. He remains one of the most notorious personalities of the American Old West, whose life has been often dramatized in popular culture. His story has inspired over 50 films, including Billy the Kid, and The Outlaw.

 3 
Jesse James
(American Outlaw, Bank and Train Robber and Leader of the 'James–Younger Gang')
Jesse James
52
Birthdate: September 5, 1847
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Kearney, Missouri, United States
Died: April 3, 1882
Jesse James was an outlaw from Missouri, who robbed trains, stagecoaches, and banks. He was also a guerrilla and led the James–Younger Gang. Along with his brother Frank, he joined pro-Confederate “bushwhackers” during the American Civil War. James became a legendary Wild West figure after his death.
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 4 
Albert Fish
(Serial Killer)
Albert Fish
72
Birthdate: May 19, 1870
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Washington, D.C., United States
Died: January 16, 1936

Albert Fish was an American cannibal, child rapist, and serial killer. Fish confessed to three murders out of the five murders for which he was suspected. However, he claimed to have victimized about 100 people and boasted of having children in every state. His crimes and the subsequent execution by electric chair were dramatized in the film The Gray Man.

 5 
John Wilkes Booth
(American Stage Actor Who Assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln)
John Wilkes Booth
58
Birthdate: May 10, 1838
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Bel Air, Maryland, United States
Died: April 26, 1865
John Wilkes Booth was a stage actor belonging to the Maryland-based Booth theatrical family. He was a Confederate supporter and disagreed with President Abraham Lincoln. He thus shot and killed Lincoln in April 1865. Though Booth fled, he was tracked down and killed in Virginia 12 days later.
 6 
Butch Cassidy
(Train, Bank Robber and the Leader of a Gang of Criminal Outlaws ‘Wild Bunch’)
Butch Cassidy
19
Birthdate: April 13, 1866
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Beaver, Utah, United States
Died: November 7, 1908

Train and bank robber Butch Cassidy was the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the "Wild Bunch" in the Old West. The son of ranchers, he ran away from home as a teenager and became involved in a life of crime. He started with minor criminal offenses and eventually became a much-feared robber.

 7 
Arnold Rothstein
(Racketeer)
Arnold Rothstein
12
Birthdate: January 17, 1882
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: nhattan, New York City, New York
Died: November 6, 1928

Arnold Rothstein, or the Brain, was a racketeer, gambler, and businessman who later became a leader of New York’s Jewish crime circuit. He had reportedly fixed the 1919 World Series. He inspired several fictional characters, including Meyer Wolfsheim in The Great Gatsby. He was murdered for declining a poker-related payment.

 8 
Johnny Ringo
(American Old West outlaw)
Johnny Ringo
5
Birthdate: May 3, 1850
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Greens Fork, Indiana, United States
Died: July 13, 1882
 9 
John Wesley Hardin
(Gunfighter)
John Wesley Hardin
9
Birthdate: May 26, 1853
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Bonham, Texas, United States
Died: August 19, 1895
 10 
Belle Gunness
(Serial Killer)
Belle Gunness
29
Birthdate: November 11, 1859
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Selbu
Died: April 28, 1908
Also known as the Mistress of Murder Farms, Norwegian-born American immigrant Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset later changed her name to Belle. The brutal murderer is believed to have seduced and then butchered her countless suitors. A headless body found recovered from her burnt house was thought to be hers.
 11 
William M. Tweed
(Member of the New York Senate from 1868 to 1873)
William M. Tweed
2
Birthdate: April 3, 1823
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: April 12, 1878

William M. Tweed was an American politician best known for serving as the boss of Tammany Hall, which had a major influence on the political scene of 19th-century New York State. He was later convicted for stealing millions of dollars from New York City taxpayers. His life and career inspired several films, such as Up in Central Park and Liberty.

 12 
Ma Barker
(Matriarch of the Barker Family)
Ma Barker
13
Birthdate: October 8, 1873
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Ash Grove, Missouri, United States
Died: January 16, 1935
 13 
Delphine LaLaurie
(New Orleans Socialite and Serial Killer Who Tortured and Murdered Slaves in Her Household)
Delphine LaLaurie
54
Birthdate: March 19, 1780
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Died: December 7, 1849
Delphine LaLaurie, also known as Marie Delphine Macarty or Madame Blanque, was a socialite from New Orleans who tortured and killed countless slaves in her Royal Street mansion. Her crimes were discovered after a fire at her mansion. An outraged mob subsequently destroyed the house, while she left New Orleans.
 14 
Ike Clanton
(Member of Brigand Group - The Cowboys)
Ike Clanton
6
Birthdate: 1847 AD
Birthplace: Callaway County, Missouri
Died: June 1, 1887
 15 
Belle Starr
(Outlaw)
Belle Starr
8
Birthdate: February 5, 1848
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Carthage, Missouri, United States
Died: February 3, 1889
 16 
Sundance Kid
(Criminal)
Sundance Kid
7
Birthdate: 1867 AD
Birthplace: Mont Clare, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: November 7, 1908

Sundance Kid was the nickname of Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, an outlaw and member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch in the American Old West. He first met Cassidy around 1896 and became part of his gang. As a Wild Bunch member, Sundance Kid participated in several train and bank robberies. He is believed to have been killed in 1908.  

 17 
Frank James
(Outlaw)
Frank James
18
Birthdate: January 10, 1843
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Clay County, Missouri, USA
Died: February 18, 1915

Frank James was an American Confederate soldier turned outlaw. He was a good student and once aspired to be a teacher. He served in the American Civil War and was later pushed into the world of crime. He became a part of the James-Younger Gang and participated in many robberies. He eventually quit crime to work other jobs. 

 18 
Zerelda Mimms
(Jesse James' Wife)
Zerelda Mimms
7
Birthdate: July 21, 1845
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Logan, Kentucky
Died: November 13, 1900

Zerelda Mimms was the wife of bank and train robber Jesse James. She was the daughter of a pastor. Her mother, Mary Elizabeth, and Jesse James' father, Robert S. James, were siblings, making Zerelda and Jesse first cousins. Zerelda married Jesse in 1874. The couple had four children, two of whom died in infancy. 

 19 
Jane Toppan
(American Serial Killer)
Jane Toppan
7
Birthdate: March 31, 1854
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died: August 17, 1938
 20 
Doc Scurlock
(Cowboy)
Doc Scurlock
3
Birthdate: January 11, 1849
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Tallapoosa County, Alabama, United States
Died: July 25, 1929
 21 
Leon Czolgosz
(American Steelworker and Anarchist Who Assassinated President William McKinley)
Leon Czolgosz
13
Birthdate: May 5, 1873
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan, United States
Died: October 29, 1901

Steelworker Leon Czołgosz was an anarchist who assassinated President William McKinley. He shot McKinley twice from point-blank range on September 6, 1901, and the president died of his wounds on September 14. Czołgosz was eventually convicted and executed for his crime. He was the main character in the musical Assassins.

 22 
Hawley Harvey Crippen
(Homeopath & Killer of His Wife)
Hawley Harvey Crippen
7
Birthdate: September 11, 1862
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Coldwater, Michigan, United States
Died: November 23, 1910
 23 
Mary Surratt
(Criminal, Businessperson)
Mary Surratt
3
Birthdate: 1823 AD
Birthplace: Waterloo, Maryland, United States
Died: July 7, 1865
 24 
Black Bart
(American Outlaw Noted for the Poetic Messages He Left Behind After Two of His Robberies)
Black Bart
4
Birthdate: 1829 AD
Birthplace: Norfolk, England
Died: February 28, 1888

Black Bart was the nickname of Charles E. Boles, an outlaw who was one of the most notorious stagecoach robbers to operate in Northern California during the 1870s and early 1880s. He was considered a “gentleman bandit” with a love for sophistication. His final robbery took place in 1883, following which he was arrested. He was released in 1888. 

 25 
Bill Doolin
(American Bandit Outlaw and Founder of the Wild Bunch)
Bill Doolin
1
Birthdate: 1858 AD
Birthplace: Johnson County, Arkansas, United States
Died: August 24, 1896

Bill Doolin was an outlaw and bandit who founded the Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin-Dalton Gang. This group of criminals committed a series of bank robberies and train robberies in Arkansas, Kansas, Indiana, and Oklahoma during the 1890s. His gang was extremely powerful. He was relentlessly pursued by lawmen and was shot to death in 1896.  

 26 
Lewis Powell
(Soldier, Murder)
Lewis Powell
3
Birthdate: April 22, 1844
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Randolph County, Alabama, United States
Died: July 7, 1865
 27 
Vincent Mangano
(Criminal)
Vincent Mangano
7
Birthdate: March 28, 1888
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Villabate, Italy
Died: April 19, 1951
 28 
Louis Buchalter
(Gangster)
Louis Buchalter
6
Birthdate: February 6, 1897
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: New York City
Died: March 4, 1944
 29 
George Atzerodt
(Criminal)
George Atzerodt
1
Birthdate: June 12, 1835
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Anrode, Germany
Died: July 7, 1865
 30 
Charles Becker
(American Police Officer Executed for Murder)
Charles Becker
1
Birthdate: July 26, 1870
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Callicoon, New York, United States
Died: July 30, 1915
 31 
John Ernst Worrell Keely
(Inventor)
John Ernst Worrell Keely
1
Birthdate: September 3, 1837
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Chester, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: November 18, 1898
 32 
Servant Girl Annihilator
(American Serial Killer)
Servant Girl Annihilator
5
Birthplace: United States
 33 
Edward H. Rulloff
(Doctor, Lawyer)
Edward H. Rulloff
1
Birthdate: July 9, 1819
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Died: May 18, 1871
 34 
Giuseppe Morello
(Criminal)
Giuseppe Morello
8
Birthdate: May 2, 1867
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Corleone, Italy
Died: August 15, 1930
 35 
Alferd Packer
(Criminal, Serial killer)
Alferd Packer
11
Birthdate: January 21, 1842
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Allegheny County
Died: April 23, 1907
 36 
Elzy Lay
(Outlaw of the Old West in the United States)
Elzy Lay
2
Birthdate: November 25, 1869
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Mount Pleasant, Ohio, United States
Died: November 10, 1934

Elzy Lay was an American outlaw who was part of the infamous Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch. A close associate of the founder of the gang Butch Cassidy, Lay played an important role in leading the gang which operated out of a remote pass called Hole-in-the-Wall in Johnson County, Wyoming. Lay's arrest in 1899 led to the collapse of the gang.

 37 
Roger Touhy
(Crime boss)
Roger Touhy
5
Birthdate: September 18, 1898
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: December 16, 1959
 38 
Frankie Yale
(Criminal)
Frankie Yale
2
Birthdate: January 22, 1893
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Longobucco
Died: July 1, 1928
 39 
Paul Ricca
(mobster)
Paul Ricca
2
Birthdate: November 14, 1897
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Naples
Died: October 11, 1972
 40 
Charles J. Guiteau
(American Man Who Assassinated the United States President James A. Garfield)
Charles J. Guiteau
7
Birthdate: September 8, 1841
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Freeport, Illinois, United States
Died: June 30, 1882

Charles J. Guiteau was an American lawyer and writer who assassinated US President James A. Garfield, in 1881. He falsely believed that he helped Garfield win the presidential elections and that Garfield owed his victory to him. However, when his applications to serve in Paris or Vienna were rejected, he got offended and killed the president.

 41 
Gaston Means
(Private Detective)
Gaston Means
13
Birthdate: July 11, 1879
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Concord, North Carolina, United States
Died: December 12, 1938
 42 
Nucky Johnson
(Politician)
Nucky Johnson
6
Birthdate: January 20, 1883
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Galloway, New Jersey, United States
Died: December 9, 1968
 43 
William C. Quantrill
(Confederate guerrilla leader)
William C. Quantrill
4
Birthdate: July 31, 1837
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Canal Dover, Ohio, United States
Died: June 6, 1865
 44 
Dean O'Banion
(Mobster)
Dean O'Banion
9
Birthdate: July 8, 1892
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Maroa, Illinois, United States
Died: November 10, 1924
Height: 5'4" (163 cm)
 45 
Tommy Lucchese
(Criminal)
Tommy Lucchese
6
Birthdate: December 1, 1899
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Palermo, Italy
Died: July 13, 1967
 46 
Patrick Eugene Prendergast
(Murderer)
Patrick Eugene Prendergast
0
Birthdate: April 6, 1868
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Inisbofin, Ireland
Died: July 13, 1894
 47 
Albert W. Hicks
(Pirate)
Albert W. Hicks
0
Birthdate: 1820 AD
Birthplace: Foster, Rhode Island, United States
Died: July 13, 1860
 48 
William Bruce Mumford
(Criminal)
William Bruce Mumford
0
Birthdate: December 5, 1819
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: North Carolina, United States
Died: June 7, 1862
 49 
Nathaniel Gordon
(Slave trader, Pirate)
Nathaniel Gordon
2
Birthdate: February 6, 1826
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Portland, Maine, United States
Died: February 21, 1862
 50 
Johann Otto Hoch
(Serial killer)
Johann Otto Hoch
0
Birthdate: 1855 AD
Birthplace: Horrweiler, Germany
Died: February 23, 1906