TR SURVIVES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN MILWAUKEE
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (JFK+50) On October 14, 1912, Progressive or "Bull Moose" Party nominee & former POTUS Theodore Roosevelt* was shot while greeting the public in front of the Gilpatrick Hotel here in Milwaukee.
At 8 p.m. local time, TR was shot in the chest from a distance of five feet as he stood in his open car waving his hat to the crowd. A 32-caliber bullet passed through his glasses case and his 50 page folded-up speech which were in his breast pocket.
TR refused to be taken to a hospital until he completed his scheduled speech.
"Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot."
Despite the wound, Roosevelt went on to speak for an hour and at one point pulled the bloody manuscript from his pocket, held it up for the audience to see, and said..."It takes more than one bullet to kill a Bull Moose."
After finishing his speech, TR was taken to Johnston Emergency Hospital "suffering from shock and loss of blood." Although he recovered, doctors determined it was best not to attempt to remove the bullet. TR would later say...
"I do not mind it (the bullet) any more than if it were in my...pocket."
The shooter was an unemployed 36 year-old New York saloon-keeper named John N. Schrank**.
SOURCES
"Shot in the Chest 100 Years Ago, Teddy Roosevelt Kept on Talking," by Christopher Klein, October 12, 2012, History, www.history.com/
"The Assassins", by Robert J.Donovan, Harper and Brothers Publishers, New York, 1955.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (JFK+50) On October 14, 1912, Progressive or "Bull Moose" Party nominee & former POTUS Theodore Roosevelt* was shot while greeting the public in front of the Gilpatrick Hotel here in Milwaukee.
At 8 p.m. local time, TR was shot in the chest from a distance of five feet as he stood in his open car waving his hat to the crowd. A 32-caliber bullet passed through his glasses case and his 50 page folded-up speech which were in his breast pocket.
When asked by his aide if he had been hit, TR answered..."He pinked me, Harry."
TR refused to be taken to a hospital until he completed his scheduled speech.
With worried aides standing by ready to catch him if he passed out, TR told the astonished crowd...
"Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot."
Despite the wound, Roosevelt went on to speak for an hour and at one point pulled the bloody manuscript from his pocket, held it up for the audience to see, and said..."It takes more than one bullet to kill a Bull Moose."
After finishing his speech, TR was taken to Johnston Emergency Hospital "suffering from shock and loss of blood." Although he recovered, doctors determined it was best not to attempt to remove the bullet. TR would later say...
"I do not mind it (the bullet) any more than if it were in my...pocket."
The shooter was an unemployed 36 year-old New York saloon-keeper named John N. Schrank**.
*Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican, assumed the presidency upon the death of William McKinley in 1901 & was elected to a term of his own in 1904. He was succeeded by William H. Taft in 1909 but soon became disillusioned with Taft's policies. TR (P) ran as a 3rd party candidate against Taft (R) & Wilson (D) in the Election of 1912.
**John Nepomuk Schrank (1876-1943) was born in Erding, Bavaria & came to America at age 9. He became a Biblical scholar & saloonkeeper in New York City. He sold the saloon after 2 years in 1906.
JFS claimed that he saw the ghost of President William McKinley who wanted him to avenge his death & also expressed the view that no POTUS should have a third term. (This was written in a note found in Schrank's pocket dated Sept. 15, 1912.)
After the attempt on the life of TR, JFS was declared insane and committed to a hospital for the criminally insane in Wisconsin.
JFK+50 NOTE
Robert J. Donovan, author of "The Assassins", writes that while TR was the first POTUS "to receive the formal protection of the Secret Service," as a former president (at that time) he did not have SS protection.
JFS claimed that he saw the ghost of President William McKinley who wanted him to avenge his death & also expressed the view that no POTUS should have a third term. (This was written in a note found in Schrank's pocket dated Sept. 15, 1912.)
After the attempt on the life of TR, JFS was declared insane and committed to a hospital for the criminally insane in Wisconsin.
JFK+50 NOTE
Robert J. Donovan, author of "The Assassins", writes that while TR was the first POTUS "to receive the formal protection of the Secret Service," as a former president (at that time) he did not have SS protection.
SOURCES
"Shot in the Chest 100 Years Ago, Teddy Roosevelt Kept on Talking," by Christopher Klein, October 12, 2012, History, www.history.com/
"The Assassins", by Robert J.Donovan, Harper and Brothers Publishers, New York, 1955.
TR X-Ray (1912)
Library of Congress Image
