Bonnie and Clyde in the United States

Bonnie and Clyde, whose real names Bonnie Parker (1910-1934) and Clyde Barrow (1909-1934), were American criminals during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Both were born in Texas. Clyde began committing petty thefts in Houston at the age of 15. Bonnie worked as a waitress; she also was an amateur poet who became known for her fondness of cigars.

Bonnie and Clyde met in January 1930 and were first linked in crime in a December 1932 automobile theft. For two years Bonnie and Clyde worked their way across the southwestern United States, holding up gas stations, restaurants and banks. They killed 12 people, mostly law enforcement officials. Because of his ruthlessness, Clyde earned the title “public enemy number one of the Southwest.” Frank Hamer, a former Texas Ranger, trailed Bonnie and Clyde across nine states before he was able to stage a deadly ambush outside Arcadia, Louisiana, in May 1934. Hamer and five other lawmen shot and killed Bonnie and Clyde as they drove through the ambush. Bonnie and Clyde were buried in separate cemeteries in Dallas, Texas.

Source: “Bonnie and Clyde” Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia

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