Smithsonian Revisits the Death of "Pretty Boy" Floyd, Shot by FBI Agents 92 Years Ago

Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd, who was born in Georgia in 1904 and grew up on a struggling farm in Oklahoma, met his end when federal agents shot him in an Ohio cornfield on October 22, 1934, at the age of 30. His criminal journey began with a 1925 armed robbery of Kroger couriers in St. Louis, which yielded nearly $12,000, leading to a three-and-a-half-year sentence—his only time behind bars. After being released in 1929, he operated from Kansas City, Missouri, orchestrating over 30 bank heists across Missouri, Ohio, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. The 1933 shootout at Union Station in Kansas City, which resulted in the deaths of four officers and outlaw Frank Nash, was officially attributed to Floyd, Vernon Miller, and Adam Richetti, though his role is debated. In June 1934, J. Edgar Hoover designated John Dillinger as the first public enemy No. 1, a title Floyd assumed after Dillinger's death the following month. While fleeing to Oklahoma with Richetti and others, Floyd crashed a Ford in rural Ohio, where agents led by Melvin Purvis apprehended him. Local captain Chester Smith later claimed responsibility for firing first and alleged that Purvis ordered Floyd to be shot. His funeral drew an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 attendees, marking it as the largest in Oklahoma's history. Floyd was later immortalized by John Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie.