Final answer:
John Dillinger was the infamous gangster who tried to obliterate his fingerprints using corrosive acid. Despite his efforts, he was ultimately identified by his fingerprints after law enforcement caught up with him.
Step-by-step explanation:
The notorious gangster believed to have attempted to destroy his fingerprints with corrosive acid was John Dillinger. In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, Dillinger was a famous American bank robber, considered a dangerous criminal, and led a gang that was accused of robbing banks and police arsenals, as well as escaping from jail multiple times. His attempts to alter his fingerprints were ultimately in vain, as forensic science was able to identify his prints after his demise.
The information provided on immigrant groups and the injustice faced by Sacco and Vanzetti in the 1920s reflects concerns about the cultural climate and immigration issues of the era rather than the criminal actions of John Dillinger, although the latter was also a product of the same historical period. Meanwhile, the mention of a corrosive acid being used in a different context from Nathaniel Hawthorne's story illustrates an example of acid's destructive capability, akin to the acid Dillinger used for his fingerprints.