On November 27, 1934, Inspector Samuel P. Cowley and Special Agent Herman E. Hollis were mortally wounded in an effort to apprehend Lester ("Baby Face" Nelson) Gillis. SA Hollis died the same day and Inspector Cowley died the following day. A wide search for Gillis was underway when word was received in the FBI's Chicago Office that he and his associates had visited Lake Como, Wisconsin. When two Agents located Gillis, his wife, and his companion, John Paul Chase, in a car near Barrington, Illinois, a running gun battle ensued. The Agents crippled the criminals' car, which was abandoned after a short pursuit. When Inspector Cowley and SA Hollis encountered the criminals and began to exit their car, Chase and Gillis opened fire, mortally wounding both Agents. Even though they were dying, the injured Agents continued firing and wounded Gillis, who died shortly thereafter. Chase was later apprehended, tried, and sentenced to life in prison.
Inspector Cowley was born in July of 1899 in Franklin, Idaho. By 1926, he had received degrees from the Utah Agricultural College in Logan, Utah, and the Law School of George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He entered the FBI, then the Bureau of Investigation as a Special Agent in 1929 and was promoted to the grade of Inspector in 1934.
SA Hollis was born in January of 1903 in Des Moines, Iowa. He completed his law studies at Georgetown University Law School in Washington D.C. in 1927.
SA Hollis entered on duty with the Bureau of Investigation in August of 1927 and worked in FBI field offices including Kansas City, Cincinnati and Chicago.
Read more about the day's tragic events in the FBI History section: John Paul Chase
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