Charles Birger was born to a Jewish family in the Russian Empire, and emigrated to the United States as a child with his parents.
17 Facts About Charles Birger
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Later, Charles Birger moved to the O'Fallon, Missouri, area, where he started work in a pool room.
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On July 5,1901, Charles Birger enlisted in the United States Army and was assigned to Company G of the newly formed 13th Cavalry Regiment, then stationed in South Dakota.
4.
Charles Birger was described as a good soldier and was honorably discharged on July 4,1904, at Fort Meade, South Dakota.
5.
Charles Birger went on to marry multiple times, being married to Beatrice Bainbridge of Harrisburg Illinois in 1921.
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Charles Birger recognized this as a business opportunity, and in 1920 he joined forces with the Shelton Brothers.
7.
Charles Birger was involved in at least one murder and bootlegging activity in the Jackson County village of Dowell.
8.
Charles Birger learned that the Sheltons' tank was in Joe Adams' garage for repairs, and demanded the tank.
9.
Charles Birger had been running a scam in which Birger stole cars and hid them until a reward was offered.
10.
In June 1927, Charles Birger was arrested on a charge of ordering the contract killing of Mayor Joseph Adams.
11.
Charles Birger allowed himself to be taken into custody without a fight.
12.
Charles Birger had been arrested many times, and had always been released a few days later.
13.
Charles Birger objected that it was unfair he should receive the death penalty while the confessed trigger man was sentenced only to prison in return for his cooperation with investigators.
14.
Nevertheless, Charles Birger was hanged for the murder of Adams on April 19,1928, at the Franklin County Jail in Benton.
15.
Charlie Birger was the second to last man to be executed in a public hanging in Illinois; Charles Shader was hanged six months later on October 10,1928.
16.
Charlie Charles Birger is buried in Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in University City, Missouri, a suburb of St Louis.
17.
Charles Birger's name entered the news again in 2006 when the granddaughter of the county sheriff who had supervised the execution sued the local historical museum in an attempt to regain possession of the noose used in the hanging.