St Valentines Day Massacre and Other V-Day History

Every year families, lovers, and friends celebrate Valentine's day on February 14th. Despite the current state of the holiday, it's history is full of pagan fertility rituals, government resistance, and gang violence.

We'll look at the dark truth about Valentine's day, then dig into the St. Valentine's day massacre.

What is Valentine's Day About?

Valentine's Day celebrates love and friendship on February 14th each year by exchanging cards, gifts, flowers, and candy. The holiday dates back to the third century AD in Christianity and even further back as a pagan holiday.

History Of Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day history starts sometime before 6th century BC in Rome as a pagan holiday called Lupercalia. Lupercalia was originally celebrated on February 15 as a health, fertility, and purification.

The ritual would sacrifice a male goat(s) and dog, create flaps out of the meat, and then people would run around naked spanking each other with the straps of the dead animals.

When Constantine made Christianity the official religion of Rom, his tribunal attempted to position Christian holidays close to the pagan holidays to make the transition from paganism easier.

Thus became the Christian version of Valentine's day. There were several martyrs named Valentine including Valentine of Rome in 269 AD and Valentine of Terni in 273 AD. There is one more that little is known about, but all three died on February 14th and were named saints.

Valentine of Rome was supposedly performing marriage ceremonies for soldiers despite a decree by Emporor Claudius II banning marriages in military age men to help keep the Roman military enrolment high. He got caught and thrown in prison.

While awaiting his execution he befriended the jailer's daughter and supposedly left a note signed "From Your Valentine." This would be considered the first Valentine's day card.

In 1375, Geoffrey Chaucer presented the poem The Parliament of Fowles on Valentine's Day and and signed it:

This poem solidified Valentine history as a day for lovers.

On February 14, 1929 a mass shooting occurred in Chicago between two rival gangs killing 7 people. This shooting was known as The Valentine's day massacre because only one side took losses. We'll discuss it more later.

Today, Valentine's day is celebrated by approximately 59% of the world. Last year it is estimated American's spent $25.8 billion celebrating the holiday, and couple expect to spend an average of $155 on Valentine's Day 2025.

What led to the St Valentine's Day Massacre?

It all started in 1920 when the federal government passed the 18th Amendment making alcohol illegal. Legal bars and liquor stores shutdown, but that didn't stop Americans desire to escape after a hard day.

Organized crime took over the manufacturing and distribution of alcohol. They opened speakeasies to sell moonshine (bootlegged alcohol), gambling, and sex.

Al Capone

In Chicago's south side, Johnny Torrio was in charge up until 1925 before he passed on the bootlegging operations to his second in command Al Capone. Capone was eager to expand his empire. The year before Al Capone took over, the mobsters killed 16 people. By 1929, the number had risen to 64 in a year.

Capone had ruthlessly taken out most of his competitors. It was just him and George Bugs Moran's Gang. Capone presumably figured out where George and his gang members would be. Capone theoretically hatched a plan to take out his competition, then went down to his Florida home for plausible deniability.

Bugs Moran's Gang

The north siders were led by Hymie Weiss and George "Bugs" Moran. There was a real hatred for Capone because of the gangsters' prostitution, an act morally reprehensible to an Irish Catholic like George.

Hymie and Bugs moran's gang tried to take out Johnny Torrio, which failed. Then they attempted to take out Al Capone by shooting more than 1,000 shots into the hotel and restaurant where his base was located. They fucked up and didn't kill Capone and Capone had his gang kill Weiss.

That made Bugs the head of the gang and he tried to kill another of Capone's gangster in retaliation. This lead to the Chicago's north gang violence on North Clark Street.

2122 North Clark Street

Today, 2122 North Clark Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago is just a lot with some parking spaces and grass, but in 1929 it was a warehouse for the SMC Cartage Company, a front for Bugs Moran's bootlegging business. The building was torn down in 1967. Learn more about the location from Chicago Detours.

St Valentine's Day Massacre Chicago, Illinois

February 14th 1929 was a typically cold Chicago day. It was below freezing all day and there was snow on the ground from the day before. Bugs had scheduled a bootleg Whiskey delivery to 2122 North Clark Street for 10:30 am.

He was on his way to the SMC Cartage garage to do the deal when he got hungry. Seven men from his team were already there when four men, two in police uniforms and two in plain clothes started the attack.

The fake or dirty police officers, lined up the mobsters along the wall that is now stored in the mob museum. They pretended to arrest the gangsters, but instead the people in plain clothes opened fire with 70 rounds from two Thompson machine guns. The people impersonating law enforcement officials shot off two shots from their shotguns. six of the seven men from the Moran gang were dead.

The fake police officers led the plain clothes gangsters out of the building at shotgun point to make it look like they were arresting them. This caused witnesses to stall before calling the police.

When police officers arrived the violence was over. There were six murders and the seventh man, Frank Gusenberg refused to talk before his death.

When reporters questioned Bugs about the murders, he told them.

That made the notorious Chicago Gangster the prime suspect for the Valentine's Day Massacre, but he had an air tight alibi and had obviously already heard the news and responded with:

So Who Dunnit?

Perhaps we'll never know. There was a public outcry about the gangsters and police investigated it for years until in 1935 Byron Bolton was arrested and was able to provide enough information to piece together what happened.

• The planning was done by: Fred Goetz, Al Capone, Frank Nitti, Fred Burke, Gus Winkler, Louis Campagna, Daniel Serritella, William Pacelli, and Byron. These peope had ties to the Capone gang, Egan's Rats, and the Purple Gang.

• The look outs were: Byron Bolton (admitted to it) and Jimmy Moran (not related to bugs

• The likely killers and getaway driver were: Frank Burke (alias Fred Dane), Gus Winkeler, Fred Goetz, Bob Carey, Raymond "Crane Neck" Nugent, and Claude Maddox

Ultimately no one was tried and convicted, but many of the players ended up in prison or dead before this. Capone spent most of the next 10 years in and out of prison, with the longest stint being around seven years for tax evasion. Capone was released on parole after being diagnosed with syphilis of the brain.

Despite his criminal enterprises, Al Capone was one of the first people to receive penicillin and died of heart failure and a hemorrhagic stroke.

Valentine's day massacre FAQ

What year was the Valentine's day massacre?

The St Valentine's day massacre was in Chicago in the year 1929. There was also a 1967 movie and a 1999 St Valentine's Day Massacre WWE event .

How accurate is the St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) movie?

Mostly. The 1967 movie The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was a docudrama written by a former crime reporter that used forensic evidence to recreate as much of the historical details as possible. Like any drama, there are always going to be some parts that have to be filled in by the writer.

What happened on Valentine's Day?

According to HistoryHit some of the most historic Valentine's days were:

1. Execution of St. Valentine in 270 AD

2. Massacre in Strasbourg in 1349 AD

3. Richard II dies in 1400 AD

4. Captain Cook is killed in Hawaii in 1779 AD

5. Saint Valentine’s Day massacre in 1929 AD

6. Japanese attack Sumatra in 1942 AD

7. Americans die in Kasserine Pass in 1943 AD

8. Allied Bombing of Dresden in 1945 AD

9. Malcolm X's house was firebombed in 1965 AD

10. US embassy in Tehran attacked in 1979 AD

Who was involved in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre?

The people who were definitely involved in the 1929 Chicago St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929 were seven members of George "Bugs" Moran's North Side Gang. The crime was never solved, but suspects include members of the Chicago police force, Al Capone's Gang, and Fred Burke.

According to the Washington Post, the massacre was planned by Al Capone and Byron Bolton admits to being involved in the massacre.

Was the St Valentine's Day Massacre solved?

No. The the Saint Valentine's day massacre was never solved.

Who were the Valentine's day massacre victims

According to History.com, the Chicago Valentine's day massacre killed seven people who are listed below.

• Frank Gusenberg: An enforcer for the Moran's gang

• Peter Gusenberg: Frank's brother and another enforcer.

• Adam Heyer: Moran gang's business manager and bookkeeper

• Albert Kachellek: Known as "James Clark," he was Moran's second in command

• John May: A car mechanic who worked on the Moran's gang cars

• Reinhardt Schwimmer: The gang's optometrist

• Albert Weinshank: Cleaning and dyeing operations manager for Moran

Where can I watch the Valentine's day massacre movie?

You can buy the Valentine's Day Massacre movie on Amazon Prime, Google Play Movies, Apple TV, or Fandango at Home. Buying it from Amazon using our link will help support Murder Meme Coin so we can continue bringing your awesome content.

What did the St Valentine's Day Massacre show about Prohibition?

The V day massacre showed the public that prohibition which was created by the 18th amendment was making the world less safe. It increased organized crime and put what used to be legitimate businesses into the hands of gangsters like Al Capone who were willing to kill to protect their turf.

Countries in North and South America have much higher murder rates than Europe and Asia because of organized crime which still operates drug trafficking rings. I recommend legalizing and taxing all drugs to increase government mental health taxes and force black markets into the legal global economy.

Check out our video about murder and organized crime.

Where can I view the St Valentine's Day Massacre wall?

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre wall is located at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, NV. 300 bricks from the massacre are on display. You should go check it out.

There are free and discounted passes for locals. You can also do experiences like learning firearm safety, forensic evidence analysis, and liquor distilling.

We'll be going on February 14, 2025 and share our experience.

Where can I watch the St Valentine's Day Massacre WWE event?

For those of you that were looking for the WWE St. Valentine's day massacre, go check it out on Peacock.

Were there any Valentine's Day Massacre Survivors?

The only survivor of the Valentine's day massacre was May's dog "Highball." Frank Gusenberg lived for three hours after being shot 14 times, but died without identifying the killers.