Al Capone

About Al Capone

Al Capone was one of the most notorious American gangsters of the Prohibition era. As the powerful head of the Chicago Outfit from 1925 until his jailing in 1931, his criminal empire spanned bootlegging, prostitution, and gambling. Though infamous for his violent reign and eventual conviction for tax evasion, his long-term cultural footprint earns him a significant historical ranking, placing him at #992 on MIT's Historical Popularity Index.

Despite this historical placement, the modern internet grants Capone disproportionate attention. In 2025, his Wikipedia page accrued 2.5 million views, representing an 8x 'overattention' when weighed against his historical importance score. This level of modern digital fascination contrasts sharply with more historically significant figures; for example, his view count far eclipses that of mathematician Pierre de Fermat (#615 importance) who only garnered 127K views in the same year, or Edmond Halley (#371 importance) with just 153K views.

Further illustrating this disconnect, Capone's 2025 attention shows signs of waning interest, with a -7.5% year-over-year decrease in views and a concerning -17% momentum drop comparing Q1 to Q3 traffic, suggesting that even this high level of attention may be cooling off.