Carl Panzram was born on June 28, 1891, on a desolate farm in northern Minnesota. His parents were of German descent, hard-working, stern and like most other immigrants of that era, dirt poor. Carl eventually had five brothers and one sister. He later said that his siblings were honest and dedicated farmers, though the same traits were not passed on to him. "I have been a human animal ever since I was born...I was a thief and a liar," he said. "The older I got the meaner I got."