WASHINGTON, March 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

FRIDAY, MARCH 19: FIRST BANK ROBBERY

Profile America — Friday, March 19th. Banks hadn't been around too long in young America before someone figured out that robbing one of them would net more money than most people could earn in a lifetime. So, on this day in 1831, Edward Smith committed the first bank robbery in the U.S. — his target was the City Bank on Wall Street in New York City. He entered the bank after it closed, using a duplicate set of keys, and got away with $245,000 — a huge sum at the time. But he was caught, convicted and spent five years in New York's Sing Sing prison. Now, across the nation, there are 9,000 bank robberies annually, which works out to 25 each day. The average robber gets away with about $4,200. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, conducting the 2010 Census beginning April 1st.

Sources: America's Best History, U.S. Timeline

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2010, t. 310

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look under the "Newsroom" button).

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

Back to top

RELATED LINKS
http://www.census.gov