Application picture of Melvin Horace Purvis, Jr. Melvin Horace Purvis II (October 24, 1903 - February 29, 1960) was an American FBI agent. Purvis was a well-educated man, and known to be a crack shot. He joined the FBI in 1927 and headed the Division of Investigation offices in Birmingham, Oklahoma City, and Cincinnati. In 1932, he was placed in charge of the Chicago office by FBI Director Hoover. Purvis captured more public enemies than any other agent in FBI history, a record that still stands. He led the manhunts that tracked outlaws Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and John Dillinger. Purvis became a media figure for this feat, Hoover claimed that he had been demoted and agent Samuel Cowley had been put in charge of the Dillinger case. He had incurred the wrath of Hoover for overshadowing him and the rest of the FBI. Purvis died from a gunshot wound to the head fired from the pistol given to him by fellow agents when he resigned from the FBI. The FBI investigated his death and declared it a suicide. He was 56 years old.