Perhaps the most recognizable figure in the history of organized crime in the United States, Al Capone gained international notoriety during the heady days of Prohibition when his gang dominated the trade in bootleg alcohol in Chicago. Known as "Scarface" for the disfiguring scars that marked the left side of his face, Capone fascinated Chicago and the nation with his combination of street brutality, stylish living, and ability to elude justice during the 1920s. Even after his conviction on charges of tax evasion in 1931, Capone remained a dominant figure in the national culture, with the story of his rise and fall—which author Jay Robert Nash has succinctly described as being from "rags to riches to jail"—serving as the archetype of gangster life in film and television portrayals of American organized crime.

Capone was born to Italian immigrant parents on January 17, 1899, in the...