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Alcatraz Island (/ ˈ æ l k ə ˌ t r æ z /) is a small island 1.25 miles (2.01 km) offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. [1] The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military prison.
81 years ago today, the first federal prisoners arrived at Alcatraz Island. On August 11, 1934, the "most dangerous" prisoners in the United States were put on the mysterious island situated 1.5 ...
United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, also known simply as Alcatraz (English: / ˈ æ l k ə ˌ t r æ z /, Spanish: [a l k a ˈ t ɾ a θ] "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.
Alcatraz was barely affected by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake which devastated the city, and the prison population dramatically increased as prisoners were temporarily transferred to the island due to damage in the city. [6] In 1907, Alcatraz Citadel ceased function as a military defense and became the Pacific Branch, U.S. Military Prison ...
James Aloysius Johnston (September 15, 1874 – September 7, 1954) was an American politician and prison warden who served as the first and longest-serving warden of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, serving from 1934 to 1948.
The Occupation of Alcatraz (November 20, 1969 – June 11, 1971) was a 19-month long occupation by 89 American Indians and their supporters of Alcatraz Island and its prison complex, classified as abandoned surplus federal land. [1]
The Battle of Alcatraz, which lasted from May 2 to 4, 1946, was the result of an escape attempt at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary by armed convicts. Two Federal Bureau of Prisons officers—William A. Miller and Harold Stites—were killed (Miller by inmate Joseph Cretzer who attempted escape and Stites by friendly fire).
It had seemed impossible to escape from Alcatraz by swimming. [3] The seasonal water temperature in the San Francisco Bay is about 53 °F (12 °C) in December [4] and the current can exceed 6 knots. [5] Citing these facts, as well as occasional visits from great white sharks and razor-sharp rocks, prison officers had discouraged most escape ...