List of Notorious Criminals - Biographies, Timelines, Trivia & Life History (2024)

Birthdate: May 21, 1960

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Died: November 28, 1994

One of the most notorious serial killers ever convicted in America, Jeffrey Dahmer terrorized the Milwaukee region in the 1980s. He targeted young men and boys, who he would lure to his house on some pretext before torturing and killing them. Finally arrested and imprisoned in the early 1990s, he was killed by a fellow inmate in 1994.

Birthdate: December 1, 1949

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Rionegro

Died: December 2, 1993

A notorious Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar was the founder and leader of the infamous Medellín Cartel. His drug cartel monopolized the cocaine trade into the United States and he became one of the wealthiest criminals ever in history. Dubbed "The King of Cocaine",he left behind a controversial legacy upon his death at the age of 44.

Birthdate: November 24, 1946

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Burlington

Died: January 24, 1989

Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped and murdered a number of women and girls during the mid and late 1970s. He ultimately confessed to his crimes and was sentenced to death by electric chair. Later, the life of one of the most notorious criminals of the late 20th century inspired a number of books and movies.

Birthdate: November 12, 1934

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Died: November 19, 2017

Criminal and cult leader Charles Manson was the leader of the notorious Manson Family,a criminal cult that committed a series of murders in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was arrested and imprisoned many times in his life and died in 2017 while serving his life sentence at California State Prison.

Birthplace: United States

Zodiac Killer was an the unidentified American serial killer who spread terror in the northern California from late 1960s to early 1970s. In his letters to police and press, he claimed to have killed 37 people, out of which five were confirmed. Though he was never caught, his case inspired numerous books, films and television series including Clint Eastwood’s classic Dirty Harry.

Birthdate: March 17, 1942

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Died: May 10, 1994

John Wayne Gacy was a sex offender and a serial killer. He assaulted, raped and murdered at least 33 boys and young men in 1960s and 1970s. He tortured and killed all his victims inside his ranch house near Norridge, a village in Norwood Park. He was given death sentence in March 1980 and was executed in May 1994.

Birthdate: January 17, 1899

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States

Died: January 25, 1947

Al Capone, also known by the nickname Scarface, was one of the most notorious American gangsters who controlled the organised crime in Chicago between 1925 and 1931. He was known for violence and cruelty in eliminating rival gang members, the most infamous incident being the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. His life inspired numerous books and films.

Birthdate: February 29, 1960

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: El Paso, Texas, United States

Died: June 7, 2013

American serial killer, rapist, and burglar, Richard Ramirez terrorised the people of California, primarily Los Angeles, between 1984 and 1985 before being eventually captured by the police. The brutal criminal, also known as Night Stalker, was finally found guilty of 43 charges, including 13 murders and was sentenced to death. While on a death row, he died of cancer.

Birthdate: April 4, 1957

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: La Tuna, Mexico

Height: 5'5" (165 cm)

Birthdate: October 1, 1910

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Rowena, Texas, United States

Died: May 23, 1934

Best known as part of the legendary criminal couple Bonnie and Clyde, Bonnie Parker was infamous for her bank robberies with her partner Clyde Chestnut Barrow. They apparently murdered several policemen, too. Their crimes were romanticized in many movies including a 1967 film starring Faye Dunaway as Bonnie.

Birthdate: March 10, 1957

Sun Sign: Pisces

Died: May 2, 2011

Osama Bin Laden, former leader of the international terrorist organization Al Qaeda, had orchestrated the September 11 attacks on New York’s World Trade Center, among others. The attacks led to the U.S.’s War on Terror, and Laden was eventually tracked down and killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011.

Birthplace: England

Jack the Ripper was anl unidentified serial killer who predominantly targeted female prostitutes living and working in the ghetto of the East End of London. Since the murders were never solved, Jack the Ripper became infamous folklore in England. The murders were so cleverly done that the authorities were not even able to ascertain the killer's gender.

Birthdate: May 22, 1942

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

From a brilliant mathematician and an assistant professor at University of California, Theodore Kaczynski became the notorious American criminal—Unabomber—who was responsible for mail bombs that killed three people and injured 23 in eighteen years. He was eventually caught and sentenced to life imprisonment after his anti-technology essay sent to the media was recognised by his brother.

Birthdate: August 27, 1906

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States

Died: July 26, 1984

Popularly known as the Butcher of Plainfield, Ed Gein was a murderer and body snatcher. His spine-chilling lifeinsane actslike exhuming corpses and making keepsakes and trophies from their skin and bones, inspired films like The Silence of the Lambs, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Psycho.

Birthdate: December 18, 1948

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Burbank, California

Edmund Kemper is a serial killer, rapist and a necrophile. He was charged, convicted and sentenced to eight concurrent life sentences in 1973 for murdering ten people, including his paternal grandparents and mother. Most of his victims were female college students and hitchhikers, whom he lured into his vehicle and then killed them. He later decapitated and violated them.

Birthdate: March 16, 1911

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Bavaria, Germany

Died: February 7, 1979

Known as Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele was the chief doctor of Auschwitz concentration camp and was responsible for killing thousands of Jews as well as torturing the prisoners mercilessly and conducting inhuman experiments on them. These included injecting them with chemicals and stitching twin children together. Despite his horrible crimes, the infamous Nazi doctor could never be captured.

Birthdate: July 6, 1969

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Christopher Scarver is a convicted murderer whose physical assault on Jesse Anderson and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer at the Columbia Correctional Institution resulted in the death of both Anderson and Dahmer. Already sentenced to life for killing a man named Steve Lohman, Christopher Scarver received two more life sentences for killing Anderson and Dahmer.

Birthdate: February 29, 1956

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Rochester, Michigan, United States

Died: October 9, 2002

Sexually and physically assaulted by her own grandfather during her childhood and teenage years, Aileen Wuornos took to prostitution to support herself. From becoming pregnant at age 14 to engaging in sexual activities in exchange for drugs, Aileen's early life played a major role in turning her into a serial killer. Her story eventually became quite famous in popular culture.

Birthdate: July 9, 1962

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: The Bronx, New York, United States

The former stock broker, who was convicted for stock-market manipulation and cheating several investors, Jordan Belfort spent 22 months in prison before he was released and altered his way of living. Using his life experiences, he became a motivational speaker and also authored two memoirs, one of which, The Wolf of Wall Street, was adapted into an award winning film.

Birthdate: October 24, 1933

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Haggerston, London, England

Died: March 17, 1995

RonaldKray was a British criminal involved in organized crime in the East End of London in the 1950s and 1960s. Along with his twin brother, Reggie, he ran a gang that was notorious for committing murders, armed robberies, and arson among other criminal activities. The brothers were arrested in 1968 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

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.

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.

Birthdate: April 27, 1948

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Bronxville, New York, United States

Frank Abagnale’s life story inspired the film Catch Me If You Can. He was a con man, imposter and did check forgery from the age 15 to 21. He assumed the identities of an airline pilot, a physician and a lawyer, among others. He was eventually arrested and after spending few years in prison started working for the federal government.

Birthdate: March 9, 1945

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Pittsburg, Kansas, United States

Dennis Rader, better known as BTK, an abbreviated form of “blind, torture, kill,” is an American serial killer. He murdered 10 people and then sent letters to the police and the media, explaining his crimes. Following a 10-year hiatus, he began sending letters again, leading to his arrest and conviction.

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.

Birthdate: June 1, 1953

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

A convicted serial killer, David Berkowitz is believed to have killed six people and wounded seven others. He eluded the police for several months before being captured. He is currently serving six consecutive life sentences in the maximum-security prison, Shawangunk Correctional Facility. He was popularized by the media under the name “Son of Sam.”

Birthdate: February 18, 1949

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Nicknamed “the Green River Killer,” Gary Ridgway is a serial killer convicted of killing 49 women by driving them to remote locations, strangling them, and then disposing of their bodies in the Green River. DNA technology helped the police nab him. He had served in the Vietnam War earlier.

Birthdate: 1680 AD

Birthplace: Bristol, England, United Kingdom

Died: November 22, 1718

Blackbeard was a notorious English pirate who struck fear into the hearts of his opponentsduring the early 18th century. His life has inspired several video games, TV miniseries, and films. Tim Powers' novel On Stranger Tides houses a fictionalized version of Blackbeard; the novel was later adapted into a film titled Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Birthdate: October 18, 1939

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

Died: November 24, 1963

Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for killing Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit. Further investigation suggested that he had murdered US President John F. Kennedy about 45 minutes before murdering Tippit. Though he denied the accusations, he was charged with the murder of Kennedy. While in police custody, Oswald was shot dead by Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner.

Birthplace: United States

D. B. Cooper is a media epithet for an unidentified man, who in 1971 hijacked a Boeing aircraft for four parachutes and $200,000. On receiving the ransom, he released the passengers; but forced the pilot to fly towards Mexico City, jumping off the plane with the $200,000 somewhere between Seattle and Reno. Nothing has been found about him since then.

Birthdate: November 24, 1897

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Lercara Friddi, Italy

Died: January 26, 1962

An Italian-born gangster, Lucky Luciano is regarded as the father of modern organized crime in the US; he served as the first boss of the Genovese crime family. He also played a key role in the rise of the National Crime Syndicate. His life and style inspired several films, television series, and books. His eponymous biopic was released in 1973.

Birthdate: September 3, 1929

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Died: October 30, 2018

Whitey Bulger was an Irish-American FBI informant and organized crime boss. His arrest and subsequent trial exposed FBI handler John Connolly who had helped Bulger in return for the latter's information about the Patriarca crime family. Bulger's life and work inspired the 2015 film Black Mass. Many fictional TV and film characters have also been inspired by Whitey Bulger.

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.

Birthdate: June 22, 1903

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Died: July 22, 1934

A gangster of the Great Depressionera, John Dillinger led a group known as the "Dillinger Gang".His gang was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. He was a master evader and escaped the police’s attempts to capture him many times. He was finally shot to death by the authorities in 1934.

Birthdate: October 27, 1940

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Bronx, New York, United States

Died: June 10, 2002

John Gotti was the boss of the Gambino crime family, described as America's most powerful crime syndicate. It made millions per year from criminal activities like racketeering, loan sharking, drug trafficking, prostitution, extortion, p*rnography and illegal gambling. The FBI convicted him in 1992 and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole and later died of throat cancer.

Birthdate: November 8, 1945

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Bath, New York, United States

Joseph James DeAngelo is an American serial killer, rapist and burglar who carried out his crimes for many years in 1970s and 1980s and was finally captured by the police in 2018. The former police officer and auto mechanic, who was known by various names like Golden State Killer and Visalia Ransacker, was sentenced to life in prison in 2020.

Birthdate: February 15, 1943

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Cartagena, Colombia

Died: September 3, 2012

Griselda Blanco, also known as La Madrina and the Black Widow, was the first billionaire female drug lord. As part of the Medellin Cartel, she smuggled cocaine from Colombia into Miami, New York, and Southern California. She spent 15 years in jail and was shot dead by an unidentified motorcyclist.

Birthdate: June 2, 1946

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Bingley, England

Died: November 13, 2020

English serial killer Peter Sutcliffe was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper as he was likened to the infamous unidentified serial killer, Jack the Ripper, by the press. Convicted of killing 13 women and injuring nine other, Peter Sutcliffe was sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2000, ITV aired a crime drama miniseries based on Peter Sutcliffe's murders titled This Is Personal.

Birthdate: August 7, 1560

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Nyírbátor, Hungary

Died: August 21, 1614

Known as The Blood Countess and Countess Dracula, Elizabeth Báthory was a Hungarian noblewoman who was accused of killing at least 650 young women from 1590 to 1610. She was also accused of cannibalism and bathing in the blood of her victims. She evaded punishment and died in house arrest.

Birthdate: January 14, 1946

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Nottingham

Died: January 13, 2004

One of history’s most infamousserial killers, Harold Shipman was a British GP who is believed to have killed over 200 patients before being nabbed by the police. He was ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment for 15 murders but later committed suicide in prison. The case led to grave concerns about powers and the responsibilities of the Britain’s medical community.

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 murdersfor 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.

Birthdate: June 11, 1943

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States

Died: June 12, 2012

Henry Hill was a mobster from New York’s Lucchese crime family, who later testified against his former associates. His life inspired the book Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family and the film Goodfellas. He was associated with crimes such as gambling, drug trafficking, and high-profile robberies at the JFK Airport.

Birthdate: May 4, 1970

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Port Credit, Mississauga, Canada

Karla hom*olka raped and killed three minors along with her ex-husband Paul Bernardo. After their arrest, Bernardo was sentenced to life imprisonment, while hom*olka served 12 years in prison following a plea bargain. Although she had claimed that she was an unwilling accomplice to the killings, a videotape that surfaced after the plea bargain suggested otherwise, resulting in public outrage.

Birthdate: August 6, 1942

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Weymouth, Massachusetts, USA

George Jung, nicknamed Boston George and El Americano, smuggled cocaine into the U.S., as part of the Medellín Cartel, in the 1970s and the 1980s. He served a 20-year prison term for his crimes. He inspired the biopic Blow and contributed to the fictional account of his life story, Heavy.

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.

Birthdate: February 28, 1906

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States

Died: June 20, 1947

Notorious mobster Bugsy Siegel held significant influence within the Italian-American Mafia and was regarded as a “celebrity gangster.” Good-looking and charismatic, he was an enigmatic figure. He played a key role in the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Noted for his prowess with guns, he met a grisly end when he was shot dead in 1947.

Birthdate: 1854

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Beveridge, Australia

Died: November 11, 1880

The Robin Hood of Australia for many and villain for others, Ned Kelly become immortal not just for his murderous confrontation with the police, but also for his reported last words “such is life”. The bushranger and outlaw remains a cult figure in Australia even a century after his execution. His sympathizers considered his as a champion of the poor.

Birthdate: July 18, 1969

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Michigan

Richard Wershe Jr. became the youngest FBI informant when he was around 14 to 16 years of age. He had started selling cocaine as a teenager and was arrested at 17. He was sentenced to life but was granted parole later. He inspired the 2018 movie White Boy Rick.

Birthdate: March 19, 1906

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Solingen, Germany

Died: June 1, 1962

Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi lieutenant colonel and one of the chief organizers of the Holocaust, that involved mass deportation and murder of Jews. In 1962, Eichmann was captured by the Mossad in Argentina and was then taken to Israel. He was eventually tried and hanged for crimes against humanity.

Birthdate: April 25, 1911

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Died: January 3, 1967

Jack Ruby was a Dallas nightclub owner who shot Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of the 35th US President, John F Kennedy. Jack Ruby was charged with first-degree murder. He died of cancer in January 1967 in a hospital just after The Texas Court of Appeals had reversed his death sentence and was slated to grant him a new trial.