The FBI releases its first “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list - March 14th, 1950

On this day in 1950, the Federal Bureau of Investigation debuted the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show that proves there's more than one way to
make history time gay bluesier. And today we're looking at
the time when the FBI first sought the public's help
in capturing fugitives by featuring their names and photos in

(00:24):
a convenient, eye catching list. The day was March fourteenth,
nineteen fifty the Federal Bureau of Investigation debuted the ten
Most Wanted Fugitives List. It was circulated as a way

(00:45):
to draw attention to America's most dangerous criminals and to
solicit help in capturing them from the general public. The
ten Most Wanted List has been in use for almost
seventy five years, and in that time it's become a
famous sim bull of federal law enforcement and has been
cited as a critical factor in the capture of nearly

(01:05):
two hundred fugitives. America's history with wanted posters began in
the seventeen hundreds. Enslavers were among the earliest adopters. They
frequently posted written descriptions of enslaved people who had fled
their bondage and offered cash rewards for their capture and return.

(01:25):
In the eighteen hundreds, breakthroughs in printing and photography broadened
the use of wanted posters in the Western territories. Sheriffs
and governors alike used the posters to grow public awareness
of outlaws like Billy the Kid and Jesse James, and
to advertise bounties for their capture. This practice continued on

(01:47):
a local level well into the twentieth century, and by
nineteen nineteen even the FBI was issuing wanted posters of
a sort. The organizations were only circulated into colonely as
a way to inform agents about military deserters and mobsters,
and there was no cash reward. Eleven years later, the

(02:09):
Chicago Crime Commission responded to arise and organized crime by
releasing a list of the city's most notorious public enemies.
Al Capone was, of course at the top of the list,
but plenty of other bootleggers, racketeers, and gangsters joined him
in the spotlight. Chicago's public Enemies list garnered a lot

(02:31):
of attention in the press. List based articles or listicles,
are big business these days, and they were popular in
the nineteen thirties too. Apparently, no matter what decade you're
living in, humans love a good list. FBI Director j
Edgar Hoover took notice of the Chicago lists popularity, and

(02:52):
the bureau began to keep an unofficial list of criminals
whose capture was a high priority. However, Hoover remained opposed
to sharing the organization's list with the public. According to
a nineteen thirty nine article in Time magazine, the FBI
quote usually considers it undesirable to dignify public enemies by

(03:14):
listing them. That stance finally changed ten years later after
a reporter for the International News Service arranged an interview
with Director Hoover over a game of cards. The journalist
asked Hoover about the quote ten toughest guys, the worst
of the worst in the eyes of the FBI. Hoover

(03:36):
provided a list, and the resulting article was not only popular,
but helpful too. The Bureau received a number of promising
leads from the public, so many, in fact, that Hoover
approved making the top ten list an ongoing program. The
bureau spent the next few months developing the idea, and

(03:57):
on March fourteenth, nineteen fifty the FB eyes first ten
most Wanted Fugitives list was released. First up on the
list was Thomas James Holden, a fifty four year old
ex con who had been half of a bank robbing
duo along with a man named Francis Keating in the
nineteen thirties. Both Holden and Keating had been captured after

(04:20):
committing a string of armed bank robberies and murders across
the Midwest. Holden was released in ninety seven, but quickly
became a wanted man again after he murdered his wife
and her two brothers in Chicago. Holden fled to Oregon
and began living under an assumed name, but once the
FBI placed him on their most Wanted list, blending in

(04:44):
became a lot more difficult. In less than a year,
Holden was apprehended after being recognized by a neighbor who
had seen the top ten list in a local newspaper.
Holden's capture was the first of many to be facilitated
by the list and by the attentive citizens who studied it.
That early success ensured the program would stick around for

(05:06):
decades to come, with new high priority fugitives being added
periodically to replace those who had either died or been captured.
The task of updating the list is more involved than
you might think. The first step is for all fifty
six FBI field offices to submit names for potential inclusion

(05:27):
on the list. Next, the Criminal Investigative Division of the
FBI works with the Office of Public and Congressional Affairs
to whittle the candidates down to a small group of
not so lucky finalists. From there, the last step of
the process is to get the new list officially approved
by the FBI's Deputy Director. After that, it's cleared for

(05:50):
public release. The selection criteria is pretty straightforward. The fugitive
must have a long history of criminal offenses as well
as current pending charges of a serious nature, and they
have to be considered particularly dangerous to the public as well. Lastly,
the FBI must believe that placing the fugitive on the

(06:12):
list will increase the chances of them being apprehended based
on information submitted by citizens. For example, if a criminal
has a defining feature that might make them stand out
in a crowd, they would be considered a stronger candidate
for inclusion on the list because there's a higher chance
that they would be recognized. Men and women are eligible

(06:34):
to make the list, but as of the time of recording,
only ten women have ever been included. The first was
Ruth Shire in nineteen sixty eight. She was wanted for
kidnapping and extortion and was eventually captured a year later
and found guilty at trial. As of March two, the

(06:54):
FBI has featured a total of five hundred and twenty
six criminals on the ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, and
four hundred and ninety one of those people have been apprehended.
The Bureau sites citizen cooperation as a strong contributor to
that success, noting that a hundred and sixty three of
those captures were made based on tips shared by the public.

(07:18):
Of course, sometimes a nationwide man hunt still isn't enough
to get the job done. For example, a bank robber
named Victor Manuel Garena holds the record for the longest
amount of time spent on the Most Wanted list. He
remained a target for over thirty two years before finally
being removed from the list in due to him no

(07:41):
longer being considered an active threat. The counterpoints of Victor
Garena is Billy Austin Bryant, a bank robber and murderer
who holds the dubious distinction of having spent the shortest
amount of time on the most wanted list. He held
his spot for a mere two hours before being captured
while hiding in a citizen's attic in Washington, d c.

(08:05):
Comparing the different lists released through the decades reveals the
changing nature of American crime, or at least of American
law enforcements priorities. According to the FBI, bank robbers, burglars,
and car thieves were the main concern of the nineteen fifties.
In the counterculture era of the nineteen sixties and seventies,

(08:27):
the list was composed mostly of sabotaurs, kidnappers, and those
who destroyed government property. In the nineteen eighties and nineties,
the list was dominated by sexual predators, drug traffickers, and
international terrorists. Those three groups remain primary targets of the
FBI today and have since been joined by a growing

(08:48):
number of white collar criminals and domestic terrorists. As a
reflection of society itself, crime takes different forms as the
years go by, but no matter how much changes along
the way, criminals and lists about them will always be
in high demand. I'm Gaye Lousier and hopefully you now

(09:11):
know a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
You can learn even more about history by following us
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and if you have any comments or suggestions, you can
send them my way at this Day at I heart
media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show,

(09:34):
and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back
here again tomorrow for another day in history class.