Lester M. Gillis
Wanted by the Division of Investigation for the killing of Special Agent W. Carter Baum near Little Bohemia Lodge in April 1934; died after the gun battle at Barrington, Illinois on 27 November 1934, as the FBI states.
- Born
- 1908-12-06
- Died
- 1934-11-27
- Aliases
- George Nelson, Baby Face Nelson, Alex Gillis, Lester Giles, "Big George" Nelson, "Jimmie", Jimmie Williams
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records state. The photograph is a United States government work, public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.
On the record
- 6 December 1908 — The FBI history page: "'Baby Face' Nelson was born Lester M. Gillis on December 6, 1908, in Chicago, Illinois."
- 17 February 1932 — Identification Order No. 1223 records his receipt at the State Penitentiary at Joliet on July 17, 1931 and his escape on February 17, 1932.
- 22 April 1934 — The FBI history page says he shot and killed Special Agent W. Carter Baum near Little Bohemia Lodge. Identification Order No. 1223 (April 25, 1934) states that he "is wanted for the murder of W. Carter Baum" near Rhinelander, Wisconsin "on April 23, 1934." The National Archives lists him among the defendants in the Little Bohemia case (No. 10922).
- 27 November 1934 — The National Archives' description of United States vs. John Paul Chase says Inspector Samuel P. Cowley and Special Agent Herman E. Hollis were "gunned down in Barrington, Illinois" by Chase and Gillis. The FBI history page says Nelson "died about 8:00 that evening" and that his body was found the next day near a Niles Center, Illinois cemetery.
Filed in the Public Enemies side section. This is not an organized-crime family page: the records here are federal fugitive, court and prison records.
The aliases are those on Identification Order No. 1223, with “Jimmie Williams” from the National Archives’ note on the Little Bohemia case. The order and the FBI’s other pages give different dates for Baum’s death (April 23 and April 22, 1934); both are shown above.
Records
itemIdentification Order No. 1223: Lester M. Gillis, "Murder" (25 April 1934)Division of Investigation wanted notice for Lester M. Gillis, with the aliases George Nelson and Baby Face Nelson, wanted for the murder of Special Agent W. Carter Baum near Rhinelander, Wisconsin. A copy is stored here.itemLester Gillis ("Baby Face" Nelson): FBI history pageThe FBI's history essay on Lester M. Gillis, known as George "Baby Face" Nelson: the killing of Special Agent W. Carter Baum near Little Bohemia Lodge in April 1934, the November 1934 gun battle at Barrington, Illinois, and the prosecution of John Paul Chase.
itemLester Joseph Gillis (Baby Face Nelson), Part 01 (FBI Vault)First of three parts of the FBI Vault's file on Lester Gillis. Page 1 is a 23 August 1934 memorandum from J. Edgar Hoover transmitting a bank robbery modus operandi report on the Peoples Savings Bank, Grand Haven, Michigan. A copy of that page is stored here.itemUnited States of America vs. John Herbert Dillinger, et al. (Little Bohemia Lodge, Wisconsin, 1934)Federal criminal case charging Dillinger and others with concealing the fugitive Thomas Carroll and resisting Division of Investigation agents at the Little Bohemia Lodge, Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin, on 22 April 1934.itemThe United States of America vs. John Paul Chase (No. 28680): the Barrington killings, 1934Federal criminal case at Chicago over the killing of Inspector Samuel P. Cowley and Special Agent Herman E. Hollis at Barrington, Illinois on 27 November 1934. The National Archives says Chase was convicted under the Act of 18 May 1934.
itemAlcatraz warden's notebook page for John Paul Chase, No. 238Bureau of Prisons notebook page with the identification photograph of John Paul Chase, received at Alcatraz on 31 March 1935 by direct commitment from the court at Chicago for "Killing Federal Officer," life sentence. A copy is stored here.
itemBody armor recovered after the Barrington, Illinois, shootout of 27 November 1934 (FBI artifact)FBI photograph of body armor the Bureau says was recovered on 27 November 1934 after a shootout in Barrington, Illinois, in which Special Agent Herman Edward Hollis and Lester Gillis ("Baby Face" Nelson) were killed.