Al Capone

==Early life==
[[File:Al Capone mother.jpg|thumb|upright|The young Capone with his mother]]
Alphonse Gabriel Capone was born in [[Brooklyn]], a [[borough of New York City]], on January 17, 1899.<ref name="CAPONE"/> His parents were [[Italian people|Italian]] immigrants Gabriele Capone (1865–1920) and Teresa Capone (''[[given name|née]]'' Raiola; 1867–1952).<ref>{{cite book |last=Hendley |first=Nate |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j30xKccCiDwC&q=naples |title=Al Capone: Chicago's King of Crime |date=2010 |publisher=Five Rivers Chapmanry |isbn=978-0986642319}}</ref> His father was a [[barber]] and his mother was a [[sewing|seamstress]], both born in [[Angri]], a small ''comune'' outside of [[Naples]] in the [[Province of Salerno]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.letrescimmiette.info/curiosita-domande-e-stranezze-ad-angri/item/853-angri-le-origini-angresi-di-al-capone.html |title=Al Capone, il gangster americano piu' famoso del mondo era di origini angresi|work=letrescimmiette.info |access-date=August 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015202655/http://www.letrescimmiette.info/curiosita-domande-e-stranezze-ad-angri/item/853-angri-le-origini-angresi-di-al-capone.html |archive-date=October 15, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Capone |last=Kobler |first=John |year=1971 |publisher=[[Da Capo Press]] |isbn=0306804999 |page=[https://archive.org/details/caponelifeworldo00kobl_0/page/23 23]|url=https://archive.org/details/caponelifeworldo00kobl_0/page/23}}</ref> Capone's family had immigrated to the United States in 1893 by ship, first going through [[History of Rijeka|Fiume]] (modern-day [[Rijeka|Rijeka, Croatia]]), a [[port city]] in what was then [[Austria-Hungary]].<ref name="CAPONE" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraf.rs/english/2250579-mysterious-adriatic-villa-it-holds-the-greatest-secrets-al-capone-was-hiding-his-mother-there|title=Mysterious Adriatic Villa: It holds the greatest secrets, Al Capone was hiding his mother there|last=Szalai|first=László|date=November 17, 2016|website=Telegraf.rs|language=sr|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190914070030/https://www.telegraf.rs/english/2250579-mysterious-adriatic-villa-it-holds-the-greatest-secrets-al-capone-was-hiding-his-mother-there|archive-date=September 14, 2019|access-date=April 4, 2020}}</ref> The family settled at 95 Navy Street, in the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard|Navy Yard]] section of Brooklyn. When Al was aged 11, he and his family moved to 38 Garfield Place in [[Park Slope]], Brooklyn.<ref name="CAPONE">{{cite book|last=Schoenberg|first=Robert L.|title=Mr. Capone|year=1992|publisher=William Morrow and Company|location=New York|isbn=0688128386|pages=18–19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U7VAcMdddNkC&q=al+capone|access-date=November 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209031658/https://books.google.com/books?id=U7VAcMdddNkC&printsec=frontcover|archive-date=December 9, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Capone's parents had eight other children: [[James Vincenzo Capone]], who later changed his name to Richard Hart and became a Prohibition agent in [[Homer, Nebraska|Homer]], [[Nebraska]]; [[Ralph Capone|Raffaele James Capone]], also known as Ralph Capone or "Bottles", who took charge of his brother's beverage industry; [[Frank Capone|Salvatore "Frank" Capone]]; Ermina Capone, who died at the age of one; Ermino "John" Capone; Albert Capone; Matthew Capone and Mafalda Capone. Ralph and Frank worked with Al Capone in his criminal empire. Frank did so until his death on April 1, 1924.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schoenberg |first=Robert J. |title=Mr. Capone |url=https://archive.org/details/mrcapone00robe |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=William Morrow & Co. |year=1992 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/mrcapone00robe/page/98 98]–99|isbn=978-0688089412 }}</ref> Ralph ran Capone's bottling companies (both legal and illegal) early on and was also the front man for the [[Chicago Outfit]] until he was imprisoned for [[tax evasion]] in 1932.<ref>[http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/capone/arrest_21.html Crime Library] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061207064332/http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/capone/arrest_21.html|date=December 7, 2006}}</ref>

Al Capone showed promise as a student but had trouble with the rules at his strict parochial [[Catholic school]]. His schooling ended at the age of 14 after he was [[expulsion (education)|expelled]] for hitting a female teacher in the face.<ref name="Biography Channel"/> Capone worked at odd jobs around Brooklyn, including a candy store and a bowling alley.<ref>Kobler, 27.</ref> From 1916 to 1918 he played semi-professional [[baseball]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2020/05/17/al-capone-played-semi-pro-baseball-before-turning-to-crime/|title=Al Capone played semi-pro baseball in Brooklyn before turning to crime|first=Dean|last=Balsamini|date=May 17, 2020|access-date=May 18, 2020|archive-date=May 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526175441/https://nypost.com/2020/05/17/al-capone-played-semi-pro-baseball-before-turning-to-crime/|url-status=live}}</ref> Following this, Capone was influenced by gangster [[Johnny Torrio]], whom he came to regard as a mentor.<ref>Kobler, 26.</ref>

Capone married [[Mae Capone|Mae Josephine Coughlin]] at age 19, on December 30, 1918. She was Irish Catholic and earlier that month had given birth to their son Albert Francis "Sonny" Capone (1918–2004). Albert lost most of his hearing in his left ear as a child. Capone was under the age of 21, and his parents had to consent in writing to the marriage.<ref>{{cite book|title=Al Capone: A Biography|year=2003|author=Luciano J. Iorizzo|page=[https://archive.org/details/alcapone00luci/page/26 26]|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |url=https://archive.org/details/alcapone00luci|url-access=registration}}</ref> By all accounts, the two had a happy marriage.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WXJ_CwAAQBAJ&q=mae|title=Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend|last=Bair|first=Deirdre|date= 2016|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0385537162|language=en|access-date=October 15, 2020|archive-date=January 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104162138/https://books.google.com/books?id=WXJ_CwAAQBAJ&q=mae|url-status=live}}</ref>