Alcatraz History
Alcatraz is an island located in California’s San Francisco Bay, It housed some of america's most difficult and dangerous convicts such as the gangster Al Capone (1899-1947), and the murderer Robert “Birdman of Alcatraz” Stroud (1890-1963).
Alcatraz is an island located in California’s San Francisco Bay, It housed some of america's most difficult and dangerous convicts such as the gangster Al Capone (1899-1947), and the murderer Robert “Birdman of Alcatraz” Stroud (1890-1963).
EARLY YEARS
Alcatraz received its name in 1775 by the Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala, he called the island “La Isla de los Alcatraces” it means “Island of the Pelicans” because of it's large population of sea birds.Seventy-five years later president Millard Fillmore signed an order to use the island for military use.
In 1850 the U.S army began holding military prisoners isolated from mainland by the cold waters of San Francisco Bay. The island was the perfect location for a prison. They thought no convict could escape from Alcatraz, no convict could escape by swimming and surviving .
During its time as a military prison Alcatraz kept rebellious American Indians including 19 Hopis from Arizona territory in 1895 . There were land disagreements with the federal government . The convict population at Alcatraz continued to grow during the Spanish-American war in 1898.