William Hamm Jr.

William Hamm Jr. (September 4, 1893 – August 20, 1970) was an executive of Hamm's Brewery. In 1933, he was kidnapped by the Barker–Karpis Gang and held for a $100,000 ransom.

Early life

William Hamm Jr. was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on September 4, 1893, to William and Marie Hamm. The grandson of Theodore Hamm, the founder of Hamm's Brewery,

Career

Upon returning from World War I, Hamm began working for Hamm's Brewery. He became the president of the company in 1931. He also became president of the Emporium department store in Saint Paul. Both businesses prospered under his leadership. The Hamm family paid the ransom on the night of June 17, though less than the $100,000 that had been demanded, by kicking it out of a car between Pine City and Rush City.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation into the kidnapping and, using latent fingerprint identification, connected fingerprints on the ransom notes to members of the Barker–Karpis Gang — specifically, Alvin Karpis, "Doc" Barker, and Charles Fitzgerald. This was the first time that silver nitrate was successfully used in forensic science to identify fingerprints from objects that could not be dusted for prints. Hamm also served on the board of directors of First National Bank of Saint Paul and the United States Brewers' Association. Dorothy filed for divorce in 1930, stating that he had abandoned her. Hamm married Marie Hersey Carroll on January 1, 1934. They had two sons, William and Edward.