1906
1971

AKA: Babe, Morton D. Ballard

Richard Loeb

1907
1936

AKA: Dickie, Louis Mason

Murderers

In the 1920s two wealthy, gifted University of Chicago students kidnapped and murdered fourteen-year-old Bobby Franks. They were convinced they could commit the “perfect crime.” Their notorious case became the first to be called the “crime of the century.”

Sons of wealth and privilege

Leopold and Loeb shared similar backgrounds. Both Chicago natives, they were highly educated, intelligent—and spoiled by wealth and privilege. The son of a successful South Side manufacturer, Nathan “Babe” Leopold received an extravagant allowance from his indulgent parents, who allowed him a great deal of freedom. After his mother, Florence, died, he threw himself into his studies. With an IQ (intelligence quotient) estimated at 200 or above (well above what is considered to be genius), he was a brilliant student. He graduated from...