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While the exact meaning is still debated, Alcatraz is usually defined as meaning "pelican" or "strange bird." In 1850, a presidential order set aside the island for possible use as a United States military reservation. The California Gold Rush, the resulting boom in the growth of San Francisco, and the need to protect San Francisco Bay led the ...
United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, also known simply as Alcatraz ( English: / ˈælkəˌtræz /, Spanish: [ a l k a ˈ t ɾ a s] "the gannet ") or The Rock, was a maximum security federal prison on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles (2.01 km) off the coast of San Francisco, California, United States. The site of a fort since the 1850s, the ...
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- August 11, 1934; 89 years ago
- March 21, 1963; 60 years ago
- 3 min
- Early Years as a Military Prison. In 1775, Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala (1745-97) mapped and named rugged Alcatraz Island, christening it La Isla de los Alcatraces, or Island of the Pelicans, due to its large population of sea birds.
- Doing Time as a Federal Prison: 1934-63. In 1933, the Army relinquished Alcatraz to the U.S. Justice Department, which wanted a federal prison that could house a criminal population too difficult or dangerous to be handled by other U.S. penitentiaries.
- Famous Inmates. Among those who did time at The Rock was the notorious Prohibition-era gangster Al “Scarface” Capone, who spent four-and-a-half years there during the 1930s.
- Escape Attempts from Alcatraz. Over the years, there were 14 known attempts to escape from Alcatraz, involving 36 inmates. The Federal Bureau of Prisons reports that of these would-be escapees, 23 were captured, six were shot and killed during their attempted getaways, two drowned and five went missing and were presumed drowned.
Alcatraz, former maximum-security prison located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, off the coast of California. Alcatraz, originally envisioned as a naval defense fortification, was designated a residence for military offenders in 1861, and it housed a diverse collection of prisoners in its
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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May 2, 2019 · This is the real story of a prisoner at the infamous Alcatraz prison, incarcerated at the same time as Al Capone. f11photo/Shutterstock. This article was originally written in 1938 as told by ...
- Bryan Conway
A standard Alcatraz cell. The clutch operated locking device that could be configured by officers to open groups or individual cells. An officer prepares tables in the Alcatraz Mess Hall. A typical cell at Alcatraz in March 1956. This is the cell of one of several prisoners permitted to pursue oil painting.
Nov 9, 2021 · Print Page. PA Images via Getty Images. A list of the most renowned inmates at Alcatraz federal prison reads like a who’s who of 20th-century criminals. They range from Prohibition-era gangsters ...
