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Criminologists and Reformers

Melvin Purvis

Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Officials

Melvin Horace Purvis II, who lived from 1903 to 1960, was an American Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who led the manhunts that captured bank robbers John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd in 1934. He later served in the United States military during the Second World War, where his duties brought him into contact with General George S. Patton and involved him with the Nuremberg war crimes trials.

Facts
Birth YearSourced to the subject's own account
1903 1
Death YearSourced to the subject's own account
1960 1
BirthplaceSourced to the subject's own account
Timmonsville, South Carolina 1
Nationality
American 2
Defining ContributionSourced to the subject's own account
Instrumental in capturing bank robbers John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd in 1934 as an FBI agent 1
Notable WorkSourced to the subject's own account
American Agent (1936 memoir) 1
Connections

Associated With

Source Wikipedia: Melvin Purvis
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Melvin Purvis
  • lead paragraph, sentence 1 (birth date)
    Melvin Horace Purvis II (October 24, 1903 - February 29, 1960) was an FBI agent who was instrumental in capturing bank robbers John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd in 1934.
  • lead paragraph, sentence 1 (death date)
    Melvin Horace Purvis II (October 24, 1903 - February 29, 1960) was an FBI agent who was instrumental in capturing bank robbers John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd in 1934.
  • page summary description field
    American FBI agent (1903-1960)
  • lead paragraph, sentence 1 (contribution clause)
    Melvin Horace Purvis II (October 24, 1903 - February 29, 1960) was an FBI agent who was instrumental in capturing bank robbers John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd in 1934.
  • Early life and early career section, sentence 1
    Purvis was born in Timmonsville, South Carolina, to Melvin Horace Purvis Sr. (1869-1938), a tobacco farmer and businessman, and Janie Elizabeth (nee Mims, 1874-1927); he was the fifth of eight siblings.
  • Career section, radio and memoir passage
    In 1936, Purvis published a memoir of his years as an investigator with the Bureau, entitled American Agent.
  • Associated With: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Opening paragraph
    was an FBI agent who was instrumental in capturing bank robbers John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd in 1934
View the Source
2. Wikidata: Melvin Purvis
Wikidata Q765838, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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