Sonny Barger
American outlaw biker (1938-2022) · United States · On the map · Writers · Died at 83
Ralph Hubert "Sonny" Barger Jr. was an American outlaw biker who was a founding member of the Oakland, California charter of the Hells Angels in 1957. After forming the Oakland charter, Barger was instrumental in unifying various disparate Hells Angels charters and had the club incorporated in 1966.
Sonny Barger is read about 867 times a day, in 16 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 9 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 114 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?Media & music
About this person
He emerged as the Hells Angels' most prominent member during the counterculture era and was reputed by law enforcement and media to be the club's international president, an allegation he repeatedly denied. The author Hunter S. Thompson called Barger "the Maximum Leader" of the Hells Angels, and Philip Martin of the Phoenix New Times described him as "the archetypical Hells Angel", saying he "didn't found the motorcycle club ... but he constructed the myth". Barger authored five books, and appeared on television and in film.
