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"P" is for Purvis, Melvin Horace, Jr. (1903-1960)

South Carolina From A to Z
SC Public Radio

"P" is for Purvis, Melvin Horace, Jr. (1903-1960). Federal agent. Purvis, a Timmonsville native, gained national fame during the 1930s as the nation’s “ace G-man,” credited with gunning down the notorious outlaws John Dillinger and Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd—.  After graduating from USC law school he joined the Justice Department’s Bureau of Investigation (later the FBI). In 1932, as senior agent in the bureau’s Chicago office, his team took down Dillinger. Three months later, Purvis led the team of federal agents that tracked down and killed Floyd. Reporters took an instant liking to the modest, mild-mannered South Carolinian and he quickly became a national celebrity. J. Edgar Hoover, the agency’s director was jealous of Purvis’s acclaim and basically demoted him. Melvin Horace Purvis, Jr., resigned from the FBI and returned to Florence County.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.