"AM I SHOT?"

PRESIDENT MCKINLEY SHOT AT PAN AM EXPO

Buffalo, New York (JFK+50) Just past 4 o'clock in the afternoon on September 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot as he was in the process of greeting the public in the Temple of Music at the Pan American Exposition* here in Buffalo.

The President had been shaking hands for about ten minutes when he was approached by a young man whose hand was bandaged.  Under the bandage was a pistol.  It was fired twice into the President's body at close range.

Blood appeared on Mr. McKinley's white shirt and he exclaimed, "Am I shot?"

The President was treated at a nearby hospital where doctors found that one of the bullets had passed through the abdomen and lodged in the back.

The man who shot the President was later identified as Leon Czolgosz.

JFK+50 NOTE

President William McKinley died on September 14, 1901 becoming the third POTUS following Lincoln and Garfield to be assassinated.  There would not be another assassination until November 22, 1963 when JFK was shot and killed.

*Pan American Exposition was a world's fair held in Buffalo, NY May 1-Nov 2 1901.  The fair was designed to recognize the independence and growth of the nations of the Western Hemisphere & to celebrate technological advances.

 

 

President McKinley Shot

September 6 1901

Buffalo, NY

Sketch by T. Dart Walker (1905)

"MY WIFE, BE CAREFUL ABOUT HER. DON'T LET HER KNOW"

PRESIDENT MCKINLEY SHOT AT PUBLIC RECEPTION

Buffalo, New York (JFK+50) On September 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot as he was shaking hands with the public in the Temple of Music at the Pan American Exposition here in Buffalo.

According to Robert Donovan, the reception had been underway about five minutes when Leon Czolgosz* entered the hall and took his place in line.  He carried a pistol concealed in a handkerchief wrapped around his hand.

When Czolgosz approached McKinley and the President reached out to shake hands, the assassin fired "twice in rapid succession."  McKinley slumped while soldiers and secret service agents pounced on Czolgosz.

Blood appeared on McKinley's shirt and he said..."Am I shot?" and then added...  "My wife, be careful about her. Don't let her know."

*Leon Czolgosz was convicted on the 2nd day of his trial.  He showed no emotion when the sentence was read.  On the morning of Oct 29, 1901 he was electrocuted.  Before his execution, the assassin said..."I killed the President because he was an enemy of the...good working people.  I am not sorry for my crime."

SOURCES

"The Assassins," by Robert J. Donovan, Chapter 4:  The Man Who Didn't Shake Hands, Harper and Brothers Publishers, New York, 1955.

"To the Best of My Ability: The American Presidents," by James M. McPherson, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., New York, 2001.

President McKinley Is Shot

Sketch by T. Dart Walker (1905)

NO ONE WOULD WISH TO HARM ME

ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AT PAN AMERICAN EXPO

Buffalo, New York (JFK+50) On September 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot as he was shaking hands with the public in the Temple of Music at the Pan American Exposition here in Buffalo.

The event was scheduled to last ten minutes, but when a presidential aide expressed his concern that McKinley was unnecessarily exposing himself to danger, the President replied...

 "No one would wish to harm me."

John D. Wells, a reporter covering the event, said at exactly 4:07 p.m...

"I saw a hand shoved toward the President...then there were two shots (fired) in rapid succession."

The man, who was taken into custody immediately after the shooting, was identified as Leon Czolgosz.   The self-proclaimed anarchist, walking forward in the reception line, had concealed his pistol under a handkerchief wrapped around his right hand as if bandaged.

After the shots rang out, blood appeared on McKinley's shirt and he said..."Am I shot?,"  adding..."My wife, be careful about her. Don't let her know."

The President was taken to hospital where doctors determined that one of the bullets caused a superficial wound while another bullet passed through the abdomen lodging in the back. Doctors were unable to locate or remove the second bullet.

McKinley's condition gradually improved but on September 12 it began to quickly deteriorate and the President died on September 14.  Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the new president.

When Czolgosz was asked why he had done this, the assassin answered... 

"I killed the President because I done my duty.  I didn't believe one man should have so much service and another man should have none."

Leon Czolgosz, tried and convicted later in the month, was electrocuted on October 29, 1901.  

SOURCES

"The Assassination of President William McKinley, 1901," Eyewitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/

"To the Best of My Ability: The American Presidents," by James M. McPherson, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., New York, 2001.

President McKinley Is Shot

Sketch by T. Dart Walker (1905)

LEON CZOLGOSZ ELECTROCUTED

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 2113

MCKINLEY ASSASSIN PUT TO DEATH 115 YEARS AGO

Auburn, New York (JFK+50) President William McKinley's convicted assassin, Leon Czolgosz, was electrocuted 115 years ago today, October 29, 1901, at Auburn Prison.

The President was shot as he was in the process of greeting the public in the Temple of Music at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.

According to James M. McPherson, Czolgosz...

"reflected the...class hatred suffering of the urban industrial world of the late 19th century.  (He) was an unemployed mill worker (who) drifted through the industrial cities of the Midwest, reading anarchist newspapers and adopting the revealing name of Fred Nieman--literally "nobody."

Czolgosz, who stood in a long reception line,  had concealed a pistol under a handkerchief wrapped around his hand as if bandaged.   It was 4:07 p.m., September 6, 1901, when Czolgosz fired the pistol point blank at the President. After the shooting, blood appeared on McKinley's shirt and he said..."Am I shot?"  

Mr. McKinley then told people around him..."My wife, be careful about her. Don't let her know."

The President was taken to the hospital where doctors determined that one of the bullets caused a superficial wound while another bullet passed through the abdomen lodging in the back.   Doctors were unable to locate or remove the second bullet.  Czolgosz when asked why he had shot the President answered... 

"I killed the President because I done my duty.  I didn't believe one man should have so much service and another man should have none."

McKinley's condition gradually improved but on September 12 it began to quickly deteriorate and the President died on September 14 at 2:15 a.m. 

The assassin was electrocuted with three jolts of 1800 volts each at 07:14, October 29.  In order to disfigure the remains, the body was doused with sulfuric acid. 

SOURCE

"To the Best of My Ability: The American Presidents," by James M. McPherson, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., New York, 2001.

President McKinley Is Shot

Sketch by T. Dart Walker (1905)

Leon Czolgosz

                        

          

President McKinley Dies 8 Days After Being Shot

September 14, 2013

PRESIDENT WILLIAM MCKINLEY DIED 8 DAYS AFTER BEING SHOT ON THIS DAY IN 1901

Buffalo, New York (JFK+50) William McKinley, 25th President of the United States, died 112 years ago today here in Buffalo from the wounds he suffered at the hands of an assassin eight days earlier.

The President, who was 58 years old, was in Buffalo attending the Pan American Exposition where he made a speech and greeted the public.

The assassin, Leon Czolgosz, fired two shots at close range.

Mr. McKinley's last words were: "It is God's way.  His will be done, not ours."

President William McKinley's remains are interred at West Lawn Cemetery in Canton, Ohio.

               McKinley's Funeral Procession
                            Washington, D.C.


THEODORE ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH AND BECOMES THE 26TH U.S. PRESIDENT 

Buffalo, New York (JFK+50) Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn into office 112 years ago today, September 14, 1901, as the 26th President of the United States.

TR Takes Presidential Oath of Office
        Nashville Tennessee News


Teddy Roosevelt became the youngest U.S. President at age 42 and remains the youngest man to attain the office.  John F. Kennedy, who was 43 years old when he was sworn in, is the youngest elected POTUS.

The ceremony took place at the home of Ansley Wilcox here in Buffalo.

The oath was administered by Judge John R. Hazel at 3:31 p.m Eastern Time.*

*Mr. Wilcox said "No Bible was used (for the swearing-in ceremony) but Mr. Roosevelt was sworn in with uplifted hand."  TR is the only President to this day to take the oath of office without using a Bible.

MCKINLEY SHOT 112 YEARS AGO

September 6, 2013

MCKINLEY SHOT 112 YEARS AGO

Buffalo, New York (JFK+50) President William McKinley was shot 112 years ago today, September 6, 1901, as he was shaking hands with the public in the Temple of Music at the Pan American Exposition here in Buffalo.

The President had been shaking hands for about 10 minutes when the would-be assassin fired twice at point blank range.

The man, who was taken into custody immediately after the shooting, was identified as an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz.

According to James M. McPherson, Czolgosz...

"reflected the anomie and class hatred suffering the urban industrial world of the late 19th century.  (He) was an unemployed millworker (who) drifted through the industrial cities of the Midwest, reading anarchist newspapers and adopting the revealing name of Fred Nieman--literally "nobody."

         President McKinley Is Shot
  Sketch by T. Dart Walker (1905)

Czolgosz, who stood in a long reception line,  had concealed a pistol under a handkerchief wrapped around his hand as if bandaged.

It was 4:07 p.m. when he fired the pistol point blank at the President.

After the shooting, blood appeared on McKinley's shirt and he said...
 "Am I shot?"  

Mr. McKinley then told people around him...

"My wife, be careful about her. Don't let her know."

The President was taken to the hospital where doctors determined that one of the bullets caused a superficial wound while another bullet passed through the abdomen lodging in the back. 

Doctors were unable to locate or remove the second bullet.

Czolgosz was asked why he had shot the President.  

He answered... 

"I killed the President because I done my duty.  I didn't believe one man should have so much service and another man should have none."*

James McPherson writes...

"McKinley was a transitional man, straddling the Americas of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  He was felled by a product of the social anomie that came with mass, industrialized, urban society:  the world of the century to come."

                           Leon Czolgosz

*McKinley's condition gradually improved but on September 12 it began to quickly deteriorate and the President died on September 14 at 2:15 a.m. The convicted assassin was electrocuted on October 29.

                        Temple of Music
              Pan American Exposition
                     Buffalo, New York
                Photo by C.D. Arnold

           Site of the Temple of Music
                     Buffalo, New York

SOURCE

"To the Best of My Ability: The American Presidents," by James M. McPherson, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., New York, 2001.

JFK PRESENTED MEDAL TO GENERAL EMMETT O'DONNELL 50 YEARS TODAY

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy presented the Distinguished Service Medal to Air Force General Emmett O'Donnell** in the Flower Garden at the White House 50 years ago today, September 6, 1963.

The President said...

"We wish to honor one of the most distinguished careers in the history of the USAF.  General O'Donnell is widely and affectionately known in the Air Force and throughout all the Armed Forces of our country--a distinguished record in WWII...and in the Korean war.

The Pacific has been his home, and the air over the Pacific has been, in a sense, his domain.

The country is most indebted to him.  General we are glad to have you here, and we thank you."

           General Emmett O'Donnell, Jr.
            Photo by W. A. Skelton (1959)
                            NARA Image

**General Emmett E. "Rosie" O'Donnell, Jr. (1906-1971) was born in Brooklyn, NY and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1928.  

He began his military career the following year, led the 1st B-29 attack on Tokyo in WWII and was Commander in Chief of the Pacific Air Forces from 1959-1963. 

General O'Donnell was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.

SOURCE

"The Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy, 1963," United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1964.