Melvin Horace Purvis, Jr. (October 24, 1903 – February 29, 1960) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 law enforcement official and Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

 (FBI) agent. He was given the nickname "Little Mel" because of his short stature. He is noted for leading the manhunts that tracked such outlaws as Baby Face Nelson

Baby Face Nelson

Lester Joseph Gillis , known under the pseudonym George Nelson, was a bank robber and murderer in the 1930s. Gillis was known as Baby Face Nelson, a name given to him due to his youthful appearance and small stature...

, Pretty Boy Floyd

Pretty Boy Floyd

Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd was an American bank robber. He operated in the West South Central States, and his criminal exploits gained heavy press coverage in the 1930s. Like most other prominent outlaws of that era, he was killed by law enforcement officers...

 and John Dillinger

John Dillinger

John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...

.
Purvis was born in Timmonsville, South Carolina

Timmonsville, South Carolina

Timmonsville is a town in Florence County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,315 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Florence Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Timmonsville is located at ....

 to Melvin Horace Purvis, Sr. (1869–1938), a pig farmer, and Janie Elizabeth (née Mims, 1874–1927) as the fifth of twelve siblings.
Purvis received his law degree from the University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

 and had a brief career as a lawyer.