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Machine Gun Kelly

1895 - 1954

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George Kelly Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known by his nickname Machine Gun Kelly, was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, active during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thompson submachine gun. He is best known for the kidnapping of oil tycoon and businessman Charles F. Urschel in July 1933, from which he and his gang collected a $200,000 ransom (equivalent to $4.89 million in 2025). Urschel had collected and left considerable evidence that assisted the subsequent FBI investigation, which eventually led to Kelly's arrest in Memphis on September 26, 1933. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Machine Gun Kelly is the 30th most popular extremist (up from 165th in 2019), the 689th most popular biography from United States (up from 3,791st in 2019) and the 13th most popular American Extremist.

Machine Gun Kelly is most famous for his song "Bad Boy" which is a tribute to the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.

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Among EXTREMISTS

Among extremists, Machine Gun Kelly ranks 30 out of 283. Before him are Ted Kaczynski, John Wayne Gacy, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Ed Gein, Albert Fish, and Carlos the Jackal. After him are Ulrike Meinhof, Frank Sheeran, Cleon, Charles Ponzi, Anders Behring Breivik, and John Hinckley Jr..

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1895, Machine Gun Kelly ranks 37. Before him are Levi Eshkol, J. Edgar Hoover, Cemal Gürsel, Aleksandr Vasilevsky, Cristóbal Balenciaga, and Ludvík Svoboda. After him are Igor Tamm, Khorloogiin Choibalsan, Rudolph Valentino, Folke Bernadotte, Lij Iyasu of Ethiopia, and Vladimir Propp. Among people deceased in 1954, Machine Gun Kelly ranks 18. Before him are Getúlio Vargas, Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, Alcide De Gasperi, Jacinto Benavente, and Wilhelm Furtwängler. After him are Dziga Vertov, James Hilton, Andrey Vyshinsky, Maximilian von Weichs, The French Angel, and Léon Jouhaux.

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Others Deceased in 1954

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Machine Gun Kelly ranks 689 out of 20,380. Before him are Whoopi Goldberg (1955), Chris Pratt (1979), John Waters (1946), Jerome Isaac Friedman (1930), Sally Field (1946), and Janet Leigh (1927). After him are Harold Urey (1893), Alfred Newman (1900), Scottie Pippen (1965), Montgomery Clift (1920), Robert A. Heinlein (1907), and James Coburn (1928).

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Among EXTREMISTS In United States

Among extremists born in United States, Machine Gun Kelly ranks 13. Before him are Golden State Killer (1945), Jeffrey Dahmer (1960), Ted Kaczynski (1942), John Wayne Gacy (1942), Ed Gein (1906), and Albert Fish (1870). After him are Frank Sheeran (1920), John Hinckley Jr. (1955), H. H. Holmes (1861), Timothy McVeigh (1968), Jim Jones (1931), and William Kemmler (1860).

American born Extremists

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