On May 23rd in celebrity history, one significant event took place in 1934. On this day, the notorious American bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were ambushed and killed by law enforcement officers near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

Bonnie and Clyde had gained nationwide notoriety for their string of bank robberies, murders, and kidnappings during the "Public Enemy Era" of the early 1930s. Their exploits captured the public's imagination during the Great Depression, with some viewing them as modern-day Robin Hoods, although this characterization was far from the truth.

The couple had managed to evade capture for years, but their luck ran out on May 23, 1934. A posse of Texas and Louisiana law enforcement officers, led by former Texas Ranger Captain Frank Hamer, had been tracking the couple for months. They set up an ambush along the highway, and when Bonnie and Clyde's car approached, the officers opened fire, killing the infamous duo in a hail of bullets.

The ambush ended the couple's two-year crime spree, which had resulted in the deaths of at least nine police officers and several civilians. The shocking manner of their deaths further cemented their place in American popular culture, inspiring numerous books, films, and songs in the decades that followed, including the iconic 1967 film "Bonnie and Clyde" starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.

The deaths of Bonnie and Clyde on May 23, 1934, marked the end of an era and the beginning of their enduring legacy as one of the most notorious criminal couples in American history.