Coroner's Report: Al Capone - HISTORY

Al Capone survived assassination attempts, brutal gang wars and an attack by a fellow inmate at Alcatraz. How did unprotected sex finally take down one of history's most notorious gangsters?

FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

RELATED CONTENT

There's more than meets the eye to Al Capone, the Prohibition-era leader of organized crime in Chicago.

The guillotine, the notorious killing machine of the French Revolution, was used to behead thousands, including King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. Why was it a humane form of execution for its time, and did victims' brains continue functioning after decapitation?

Seppuku was a ritual form of suicide used by samurai warriors to avoid surrender or atone for a shameful act. What were their painful final moments really like?

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. obliterated the Roman city of Pompeii, burying it under tons of volcanic ash. While many of its resident fled to safety, what happened to those who dared to stay behind?

When the "unsinkable" ocean liner Titanic was lost after hitting an iceberg on April 15, 1912, lifeboats saved only 700 of her passengers. What did the 1,500 people who went down with the ship experience in the icy waters of the North Atlantic?

Al Capone's Secret City