1930: Lovers Bonnie and Clyde Committed their First Robbery

Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow were in their early twenties (she was 20 years old and he 21) when they, during the Great Depression in the United States, set off on a path of crime and lawlessness. When they met, Clyde had already had some bad experiences with the police, and Bonnie was a young unemployed women. It is interesting that she married Roy Thornton, former classmate, when she was only 16 years old. But the marriage soon fell apart, and she was alone when she met Clyde. However, she never officially divorced, and even wore Thornton’s ring when she was finally killed in an ambush.

It is assumed that Bonnie fell in love with Clyde and started to follow him in his criminal activities. Today’s historians believe that she was not a rough cigar smoker like she was portrayed in the press at that time. She was probably gentler and the question is whether she ever actually fired at the police. She gained a reputation for being a bad girl because of the photos with her smoking a cigar and holding a gun, which were taken for fun. Bonnie and Clyde were killed together on 23 May 1934, only four years after they met and began their robbing career.