Charles Birger
American mobster (1881-1928)
Charles "Charlie" Birger (born Shachnai Itzak Birger, February 5, 1881 – April 19, 1928) was an American bootlegger during the Prohibition period in southern Illinois.
Early life
Charles Birger was born on February 5, 1881 in the Russian Empire to Jewish parents. The family immigrated to the United States when he was a child. They settled in St. Louis, which was also where he got a job as a news boy with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper when he was aged eight.
On July 5, 1901, Birger enlisted himself in the United States Army. He was stationed in South Dakota to Company G of the newfound 13th Cavalry Regiment. Throughout his time in the military, he was described as a good soldier. He was honorably discharged on July 4, 1904, at Fort Meade, South Dakota.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Charles Birger” as american mobster (1881-1928). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as american mobster (1881-1928). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5075621. VIAF identifies the subject as 21018693. The Library of Congress control number is n82016877. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1881, 1928, 1901 and 1904.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Charles Birger”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Charles Birger primary sources, Charles Birger archive and Charles research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Charles Birger”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Charles Birger” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.