Due to its isolated location and the freezing San Francisco Bay waters, the authorities considered Alcatraz as an ideal place for holding dangerous prisoners. Alcatraz operated for a full 29 years and during that time; there had been no known case of any successful escape attempts.
There were 14 cases of escape attempts in Alcatraz. Most of the escapees were either caught or shot dead while some of them were presumed drowned in the San Francisco Bay waters. Joe Bowers made the first escape attempt on April 27, 1936. Bowers was shot by an officer stationed in the West road guard tower while attempting to climb over the chain link fence at the island’s edge. Bowers died from injuries sustained from the fall.
Four inmates, James Boarman, Harold Brest, Floyd Hamilton, and Fred Hunter took two officers hostage while at work in the industries area in April 1943. One inmate was shot dead, two apprehended and one disappeared for two days but was later caught by correctional officers.
In May 1946, six prisoners – Bernard Coy, Joe Cretzer, Marvin Hubbard, Sam Shockley, Miran Thompson, and Clarence Carnes took control of the cell house by force. When prison officials tried to thwart the escape attempt, the prisoners decided to fight back and eventually killed two officers. Two of the inmates received the death penalty and were executed in San Quentin. This episode in the history of Alcazar is known as “The Battle of Alcazar”
The most famous escape, popularized by the movie, “Escape from Alcatraz”, was made by Frank Morris, John and his brother, Clarence Anglin. These three inmates disappeared from their cells and the Island on June 11, 1962. There is no evidence that they ever reached the shore, so they are officially listed as “missing and presumed drowne
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Alcatraz History
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Alcatraz Island was declared a military reservation in 1850 and troops were permanently stationed by 1859. For almost eighty years Alcatraz Island was the site of the first fortress and military prison on the west coast. The United States Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz were acquired...
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Alcatraz
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Alcatraz is an old prison, which was used as a federal penitentiary from 1934 to 1963, a total of 29 years. It is located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California and when it was opened to the public from 1972, it has...
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Alcatraz Prison
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Alcatraz Prison is located in a very small piece of island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. The prison was originally an army fort, which was later converted into and used as a federal penitentiary for 29 years (1934 to 1963). The prison...
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Alcatraz Island
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California, the 12-acre Alcatraz Island was declared a military reservation in 1850 but was later converted into a federal penitentiary in 1934. The name, “Alcatraz” comes from Spanish and refers to a kind of seabird Recreation...
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Alcatraz Ghosts
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Alcatraz was supposed to be a prison for America’s worst prisoners. But even before the department of prisons actually took over the island, the military used it as a place to keep the civil war prisoners. Over the years, there have been a lot of...
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Birdman of Alcatraz
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The most famous inmate in Alcatraz Prison was Robert Stroud, also known to the public as the “birdman of Alcatraz” (so called due to the keen interest he developed in canaries and birds during the thirty years of his time in Leavenworth). Stroud was first...
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Alcatraz Tours
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Ever since Alcatraz was opened to the public in 1972, it has become one of the most visited historic sites in San Francisco. About a million people visit the island each year. Therefore, tickets to Alcatraz sell out as early as one to two weeks...
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Alcatraz Inmates
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Alcatraz is famous for having housed some famous gangsters and criminals. Most of these prisoners were those considered dangerous, disobedient, escape risks and known for committing serious crimes such as murder, racketeering, smuggling etc. Al Capone, one of the most notorious gangsters in America, was...
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Alcatraz Souvenirs
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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A souvenir is a product or an item bought from a particular place to serve as a reminder of that place. It helps relive the experience of the visit to the place. The Alcatraz prison off the coast of San-Francisco is one of America’s major...
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Alcatraz Lighthouse
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Alcatraz islands off the cost of San-Francisco have only two lighthouses. The foundation of the first was laid in 1852, and the entire structure became operational in 1854. The first lighthouse was a two storey structure with a tower at the center. The fifty-foot structure...