Johnny Dolan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Dandy" Johnny Dolan (1849 or 1850 – April 21, 1876) was a New York City murderer and prominent member of the Whyos street gang.

A leading member of the Whyos during its glory years of the post-Civil War era, Dolan was known as a particularly inventive criminal, perfecting a variety of devices widely used for assault and murder throughout the underworld. Dolan designed a copper eye gouger, which was worn on the thumb, which he used both in criminal activities and in battles with other gangs. Dolan himself owned a personally designed pair of boots with sections of a sharp axe blade embedded in the soles, which he used to stomp a downed victim.

On the morning of August 22, 1875, while attempting to burglarize a local Greenwich Street brush factory, Dolan was confronted by its owner, James H. Noe, whom Dolan attacked with his eye gougers before beating him to death with an iron bar. According to underworld lore, Dolan later presented his victim's gouged eyes before other members of the Whyos before he was apprehended by police after finding a specialized cane, with a metal handle carved into the likeness of a monkey, as well as a watch and chain belonging to Noe. Based on this evidence, he was tried and found guilty of murder, for which he was hanged on April 21, 1876 at the age of 26.

Johnny Dolan is also the name of a popular disk jockey who first came to prominence in the 1960s at WHB, a Kansas City AM radio station, then featuring a Top 40 pop format. His fans became known as "Dolan Diggers".

[edit] See also

[edit] References