Fluent Essays

This Day in History Choose two historical events on that day and summarize it, each event should be two pages long. That means you can choose 8 different days 10/18/21, 1:22 AM This Day in History - What Happened Today - HISTORY https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history 1/3 THIS DAY IN HISTORY OCTOBER 17 Al Capone goes to prison On October 17, 1931, gangster Al Capone is sentenced to 11 years in prison for tax evasion and fined $80,000, signaling the downfall of one of the most notorious criminals of the 1920s and 1930s. Alphonse Gabriel Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1899 to Italian immigrants. He was expelled from school at 14, joined a gang and earned his nickname “Scarface” after being sliced across the cheek during a fight. By 1920, Capone had moved to Chicago, where he was soon helping to run crime boss Johnny Torrio’s illegal enterprises, which included alcohol-smuggling, gambling and prostitution. Torrio retired in 1925 after an attempt on his life and Capone, known for his cunning and brutality, was put in charge of the organization. Prohibition, which outlawed the brewing and distribution of alcohol and lasted from 1920 to 1933, proved extremely lucrative for bootleggers and gangsters like Capone, who raked in millions from his underworld activities. Capone was at the top of the F.B.I.’s “Most Wanted” list by 1930, but he avoided long stints in jail until 1931 by bribing city officials, intimidating witnesses and maintaining various hideouts. He became Chicago’s crime kingpin by wiping out his competitors through a series of gangland battles and slayings, including the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929, when Capone’s men gunned down seven rivals. This event helped raise Capone’s notoriety to a national level. WATCH: Lost Worlds: Al Capones Secret City on HISTORY Vault Among Capone’s enemies was federal agent Elliot Ness, who led a team of officers known as “The Untouchables” because they couldn’t be corrupted. Ness and his men routinely broke up Capone’s bootlegging businesses, but it was tax-evasion charges that finally stuck and landed Capone in prison in 1931. Capone began serving his time at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, but amid accusations that he was manipulating the system and receiving cushy treatment, he was transferred to the maximum-security lockup at Alcatraz Island, in California’s San Francisco Bay. He got out early in 1939 for good behavior, after spending his final year in prison in a hospital, suffering from syphilis. Plagued by health problems for the rest of his life, Capone died in 1947 at age 48 at his home in Palm Island, Florida. https://www.history.com/topics/al-capone https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/roaring-twenties-history https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/1930s https://www.history.com/topics/chicago https://www.history.com/topics/prohibition https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-st-valentines-day-massacre https://watch.historyvault.com/shows/lost-worlds/season-2/episode-10 https://www.history.com/topics/alcatraz https://www.history.com/topics/us-states/florida https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-should-know-about-al-capone https://www.history.com/ 10/18/21, 1:22 AM This Day in History - What Happened Today - HISTORY https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history 2/3 FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesnt look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. ALSO ON THIS DAY READ MORE: 8 Things You Should Know About Al Capone Citation Information Article Title Al Capone goes to prison Author History.com Editors Website Name HISTORY URL https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/capone-goes-to-prison Access Date October 18, 2021 Publisher A&E Television Networks Last Updated October 14, 2021 Original Published Date November 24, 2009 mailto:[email protected]?subject=Fact\%20Check\%20-\%20This\%20Day\%20in\%20History&body=\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%0AReferring\%20URL\%3A\%20https\%3A\%2F\%2Fwww.history.com/this-day-in-history\%0A\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%E2\%80\%94\%0A https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-should-know-about-al-capone https://www.history.com/author/history https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/capone-goes-to-prison 10/18/21, 1:22 AM This Day in History - What Happened Today - HISTORY https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history 3/3