1934 : Federal prisoners land on Alcatraz
A group of federal prisoners classified as "most dangerous" arrives at
Alcatraz Island, a 22-acre rocky outcrop situated 1.5 miles offshore
in San Francisco Bay. The convicts--the first civilian prisoners to be
housed in the new high-security penitentiary--joined a few dozen
military prisoners left over from the island's days as a U.S. military
prison.
Alcatraz was an uninhabited seabird haven when it was explored by
Spanish Lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775. He named it Isla de
los Alcatraces, or "Island of the Pelicans." Fortified by the Spanish,
Alcatraz was sold to the United States in 1849. In 1854, it had the
distinction of housing the first lighthouse on the coast of
California. Beginning in 1859, a U.S. Army detachment was garrisoned
there, and from 1868 Alcatraz was used to house military criminals. In
addition to recalcitrant U.S. soldiers, prisoners included rebellious
Indian scouts, American soldiers fighting in the Philippines who had
deserted to the Filipino cause, and Chinese civilians who resisted the
U.S. Army during the Boxer Rebellion. In 1907, Alcatraz was designated
the Pacific Branch of the United States Military Prison.
In 1934, Alcatraz was fortified into a high-security federal
penitentiary designed to hold the most dangerous prisoners in the U.S.
penal system, especially those with a penchant for escape attempts.
The first shipment of civilian prisoners arrived on August 11, 1934.
Later that month, more shiploads arrived, featuring, among other
convicts, infamous mobster Al Capone. In September, George "Machine
Gun" Kelly, another luminary of organized crime, landed on Alcatraz.
In the 1940s, a famous Alcatraz prisoner was Richard Stroud, the
"Birdman of Alcatraz." A convicted murderer, Stroud wrote an important
study on birds while being held in solitary confinement in Leavenworth
Prison in Kansas. Regarded as extremely dangerous because of his 1916
murder of a guard at Leavenworth, he was transferred to Alcatraz in
1942. Stroud was not allowed to continue his avian research at
Alcatraz.
Although some three dozen attempted, no prisoner was known to have
successfully escaped "The Rock." However, the bodies of several
escapees believed drowned in the treacherous waters of San Francisco
Bay were never found. The story of the 1962 escape of three of these
men, Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, inspired the
1979 film Escape from Alcatraz. Another prisoner, John Giles, caught a
boat ride to the shore in 1945 dressed in an army uniform he had
stolen piece by piece, but he was questioned by a suspicious officer
after disembarking and sent back to Alcatraz. Only one man, John Paul
Scott, was recorded to have reached the mainland by swimming, but he
came ashore exhausted and hypothermic at the foot of the Golden Gate
Bridge. Police found him lying unconscious and in a state of shock.
In 1963, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy ordered Alcatraz
closed, citing the high expense of its maintenance. In its 29-year
run, Alcatraz housed more than 1,500 convicts. In March 1964 a group
of Sioux Indians briefly occupied the island, citing an 1868 treaty
with the Sioux allowing Indians to claim any "unoccupied government
land." In November 1969, a group of nearly 100 Indian students and
activists began a more prolonged occupation of the island, remaining
there until they were forced off by federal marshals in June 1971.
In 1972, Alcatraz was opened to the public as part of the newly
created Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which is maintained by
the National Park Service. More than one million tourists visit
Alcatraz Island and the former prison annually.
history.com/tdih.do
1952 : Hussein succeeds to Jordanian throne
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5250
1965 : Watts Riot begins
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5251
1998 : Jonesboro schoolyard shooters guilty
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5252
###########################################
A group of federal prisoners classified as "most dangerous" arrives at
Alcatraz Island, a 22-acre rocky outcrop situated 1.5 miles offshore
in San Francisco Bay. The convicts--the first civilian prisoners to be
housed in the new high-security penitentiary--joined a few dozen
military prisoners left over from the island's days as a U.S. military
prison.
Alcatraz was an uninhabited seabird haven when it was explored by
Spanish Lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775. He named it Isla de
los Alcatraces, or "Island of the Pelicans." Fortified by the Spanish,
Alcatraz was sold to the United States in 1849. In 1854, it had the
distinction of housing the first lighthouse on the coast of
California. Beginning in 1859, a U.S. Army detachment was garrisoned
there, and from 1868 Alcatraz was used to house military criminals. In
addition to recalcitrant U.S. soldiers, prisoners included rebellious
Indian scouts, American soldiers fighting in the Philippines who had
deserted to the Filipino cause, and Chinese civilians who resisted the
U.S. Army during the Boxer Rebellion. In 1907, Alcatraz was designated
the Pacific Branch of the United States Military Prison.
In 1934, Alcatraz was fortified into a high-security federal
penitentiary designed to hold the most dangerous prisoners in the U.S.
penal system, especially those with a penchant for escape attempts.
The first shipment of civilian prisoners arrived on August 11, 1934.
Later that month, more shiploads arrived, featuring, among other
convicts, infamous mobster Al Capone. In September, George "Machine
Gun" Kelly, another luminary of organized crime, landed on Alcatraz.
In the 1940s, a famous Alcatraz prisoner was Richard Stroud, the
"Birdman of Alcatraz." A convicted murderer, Stroud wrote an important
study on birds while being held in solitary confinement in Leavenworth
Prison in Kansas. Regarded as extremely dangerous because of his 1916
murder of a guard at Leavenworth, he was transferred to Alcatraz in
1942. Stroud was not allowed to continue his avian research at
Alcatraz.
Although some three dozen attempted, no prisoner was known to have
successfully escaped "The Rock." However, the bodies of several
escapees believed drowned in the treacherous waters of San Francisco
Bay were never found. The story of the 1962 escape of three of these
men, Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, inspired the
1979 film Escape from Alcatraz. Another prisoner, John Giles, caught a
boat ride to the shore in 1945 dressed in an army uniform he had
stolen piece by piece, but he was questioned by a suspicious officer
after disembarking and sent back to Alcatraz. Only one man, John Paul
Scott, was recorded to have reached the mainland by swimming, but he
came ashore exhausted and hypothermic at the foot of the Golden Gate
Bridge. Police found him lying unconscious and in a state of shock.
In 1963, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy ordered Alcatraz
closed, citing the high expense of its maintenance. In its 29-year
run, Alcatraz housed more than 1,500 convicts. In March 1964 a group
of Sioux Indians briefly occupied the island, citing an 1868 treaty
with the Sioux allowing Indians to claim any "unoccupied government
land." In November 1969, a group of nearly 100 Indian students and
activists began a more prolonged occupation of the island, remaining
there until they were forced off by federal marshals in June 1971.
In 1972, Alcatraz was opened to the public as part of the newly
created Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which is maintained by
the National Park Service. More than one million tourists visit
Alcatraz Island and the former prison annually.
history.com/tdih.do
1952 : Hussein succeeds to Jordanian throne
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5250
1965 : Watts Riot begins
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5251
1998 : Jonesboro schoolyard shooters guilty
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5252
###########################################
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