The FBI’s Most Wanted List, established in 1950, strikes fear in fugitives as it solicits public assistance to apprehend them. This roster of the 20 most wanted from the 1950s shows being named to the list often leads to swift capture.
Created by FBI Director Hoover to find dangerous criminals, especially prison escapees, the iconic list has included some women over the years but consists mostly of men.
To compile a list of the most wanted criminals of the 1950s, 24/7 Tempo reviewed information from “Ten Most Wanted History Pictures,” a report published by the FBI that identifies over 500 current and former criminals who have appeared on the list, along with the details of their arrests.
Since its start, tips from citizens have led to 492 of 529 listed being caught. Some from the original 1950 class were arrested pre-listing, while others evaded capture.
Whether thieves, robbers, murderers or worse, these fugitives were among the era’s most notorious criminals. The list made clear – in most cases, you can’t outrun the law. (Here is a list of 26 Wild West outlaws who became legends.)
Here are the 20 most wanted criminals in the 1950s:
Omar August Pinson
After initially serving time for burglary and armed robbery, Pinson was released from prison and promptly shot and killed an Oregon police officer in 1947. Sentenced to life in prison this time, he escaped in 1949, evaded capture after a shootout the following year, was finally caught shortly after spending five months on the Most Wanted List. He was paroled in 1959.
Glen Roy Wright
A member of the Karpis-Barker Gang in the 1930s, Glen Roy Wright was sentenced to life in prison at Oklahoma State Penitentiary for armed robbery in 1934 after being wounded in two separate gun battles with police. He escaped from prison in 1948 but was recaptured after nine months on the Most Wanted List and died in prison in 1954.
Lee Emory Downs
Skilled at safecracking and holdups, Lee Emory Downs robbed a San Jose, California, telephone company office in 1948, and two years later he was arrested in a Florida trailer park with dynamite and other weapons after a month on the Most Wanted List. After his parole in 1968, he was sent back to prison after attempting to rob the Colombian consulate in San Francisco.
Thomas Kling
Thomas Kling, a serial bank robber, spent two years on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List before being arrested in New York City in 1952.
Courtney Townsend Taylor
Courtney Townsend Taylor was a seasoned jewel thief who was spotted by a jeweler in Mobile, Alabama, who recognized his face from a flier, in 1951. The jeweler called the FBI and local police, and he was quickly apprehended. He’d spent one month on the FBI’s list.
Harry H. Burton
Harry H. Burton spent a year on the Most Wanted List for a 1951 murder (during which he was featured on the popular “True Detective Mysteries” radio show), but following his capture he was acquitted after a witness testified that he was actually at his dying mother’s bedside during the time of the murder.