In the 1960s, for a second decade, the United States FBI continued to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives . Following is a brief review of FBI people and events that place the 1960s decade in context, and then an historical list of individual suspects whose names first appeared on the 10 Most Wanted list during the decade of the 1960s, under FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
As a decade, the 1960s were the final and most controversial of the Hoover era in the Bureau. The famous Director had formed and defined the Bureau for nearly a half century. During the turbulent 1960s, the FBI continued controversial domestic surveillance in an operation called Cointelpro. It aimed at investigating and disrupting dissident political organizations within the United States, including civil rights leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr. who was a frequent target of investigation.
As a more friendly face presented to the public, in 1965 Warner Bros. Television presented the series The F.B.I. , showing dramatizations taken from actual historical FBI cases, starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as fictional agent Louis Erskine. Epilogues included Zimbalist stepping out of character to alert viewers to Ten Most Wanted Fugitives from the FBI's contemporary list.
The FBI in the past has identified individuals by the sequence number in which each individual has appeared on the list. Some individuals have even appeared twice, and often a sequence number was permanently assigned to an individual suspect who was soon caught, captured, or simply removed, before his or her appearance could be published on the publicly released list. In those cases, the public would see only gaps in the number sequence reported by the FBI. For convenient reference, the wanted suspect's sequence number and date of entry on the FBI list appear below, whenever possible.
As the new decade opened, six of the ten places on the list remained filled by these elusive long-time fugitives, then still at large:
The most wanted fugitives listed in the decade of the 1960s includes (in FBI list appearance sequence order):
Joseph Corbett, Jr. was wanted for kidnap and murder of wealthy heir Adolph Coors III
status: paroled in 1980
April 20, 1968 #277, & also June 11, 1977 #351
Two months on the list
James Earl Ray was apprehended June 8, 1968 in London, England by British authorities for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
He died of hepatitis C at age 70 in prison.
January 8, 1969 #295
shortest time (excluding never published) on the list, 2 hours
Fourth "Special Addition"
Billie Austin Bryant was wanted for first degree murder of two FBI Agents
status: US PRISONER at the Federal Penitentiary at Atlanta, Georgia November 4, 1969
By the end of the decade, the following Fugitives were the FBI's Ten Most Wanted:
The tenth space had just opened up at the end of the year 1969.
The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives is a most wanted list maintained by the United States's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, and William Kinsey Hutchinson, International News Service editor-in-chief, who were discussing ways to promote capture of the FBI's "toughest guys". This discussion turned into a published article, which received so much positive publicity that on March 14, 1950, the FBI officially announced the list to increase law enforcement's ability to capture dangerous fugitives. The first person added to the list was Thomas J. Holden, a robber and member of the Holden–Keating Gang on the day of the list's inception.
The F.B.I. is an American police television series created by Quinn Martin and Philip Saltzman for ABC and co-produced with Warner Bros. Television, with sponsorship from the Ford Motor Company, Alcoa and American Tobacco Company in the first season. Ford sponsored the show alone for subsequent seasons. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1965 until its end in 1974. Starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Philip Abbott and William Reynolds, the series, consisting of nine seasons and 241 episodes, chronicles a group of FBI agents trying to defend the US government from unidentified threats. For the entirety of its run, it was broadcast on Sunday nights.
The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives during the 2000s is a list, maintained for a sixth decade, of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. At any given time, the FBI is actively searching for 12,000 fugitives. During the 2000s, 36 new fugitives were added to the list. By the close of the decade a total of 494 fugitives had been listed on the Top Ten list, of whom 463 have been captured or located.
The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives during the 1990s is a list, maintained for a fifth decade, of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives during the 1980s is a list, maintained for a fourth decade, of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives during the 1970s is a list, maintained for a third decade, of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In the 1950s, the United States FBI began to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Following is a brief review of FBI people and events that place the 1950s decade in context, and then an historical list of individual fugitives whose names first appeared on the 10 Most Wanted list during the decade of the 1950s, under FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
In 1955, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for a sixth year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
In 1956, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for a seventh year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
In 1957, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for an eighth year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
In 1958, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for a ninth year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
In 1959, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for a tenth year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
In 1960, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for an eleventh year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
In 1962, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for a thirteenth year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
In 1966, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for a seventeenth year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
In 1967, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for an eighteenth year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
In 1968, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for a nineteenth year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
In 1969, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for a twentieth year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives during the 2010s is a list, maintained for a seventh decade, of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. At any given time, the FBI is actively searching for 12,000 fugitives. During the 2010s, 29 new fugitives were added to the list. By the close of the decade a total of 523 fugitives had been listed on the Top Ten list, of whom 488 have been captured or located.
The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives during the 2020s is a list, maintained for an eighth decade, of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. At any given time, the FBI is actively searching for 12,000 fugitives. As of May 25, 2023, eight new fugitives have been added to the list.