Richard Hickock
His brutal crime in a quiet Kansas farmhouse became the chilling foundation for a new genre of literary nonfiction.
1931–1965 (age 34)·Executed American mass murderer·Birthday: June 6·The Silent Generation
Biography
Richard Hickock's life was a trajectory of petty crime that escalated into a nightmare. Paroled from Kansas State Penitentiary, he fixated on a false tip about a safe full of cash at the Clutter family home in Holcomb. In November 1959, he and Perry Smith drove hundreds of miles to rob the place, but finding no safe, they bound and shot all four family members. The senseless violence shattered the illusion of rural safety and triggered a massive manhunt. Hickock's boastful talk eventually led to their capture. The trial and subsequent executions were meticulously documented by Truman Capote, who turned the crime and its perpetrators into the centerpiece of 'In Cold Blood.' Hickock, portrayed as the scheming instigator, became a permanent figure in the American true-crime landscape. His story is less one of personal notoriety and more a dark thread in the tapestry of a narrative that forever changed how journalists tell stories of violence and its aftermath.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Richard was born in 1931, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Richard Was Born
The biggest hits of 1931
#1 Movie
Frankenstein
Best Picture
Cimarron
Richard's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1931Born
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1936Started school
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1944Became a teenager
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1947Could drive
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1949Could vote
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1952Turned 21
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1961Turned 30
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1965Died at 34
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
Key Achievements
- His crime was the central subject of Truman Capote's groundbreaking nonfiction novel 'In Cold Blood,' published in 1966.
- The Clutter family murders led to one of the most extensive and highly publicized criminal investigations in Kansas history.
- His confession and testimony were pivotal in the conviction of both himself and his accomplice, Perry Smith.
Did You Know?
He claimed to have had a dream about a large cat with blue eyes before the murders, which he took as a bad omen.
While in prison, Hickock drew detailed architectural plans for a dream home he called 'The House of the Future.'
He and Perry Smith were executed by hanging at the Kansas State Penitentiary just after midnight on April 14, 1965.
“I figured they'd be better off dead than poor like me.”
