Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee), “This day in history — Sept. 6”
In 1901, President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. (McKinley died eight days later; Czolgosz was executed on Oct. 29.) Continue Reading
Tribune Chronicle (OH), “Honoring President McKinley then and now”
His assassin was Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist. His mugshot is on display at the McKinley Birthplace Home in Niles. Continue Reading
New York Daily News, “The 1920 Wall Street bombing: Authorities blamed agitators for the deadly explosion amid the first Red Scare”
Authorities kept unmasking Red plots all through 1921. NEW YORK ANARCHISTS REORGANIZED, the papers said. REDS OF AMERICA UNITED UNDER ONE HEAD. AGENTS SOWING CLASS HATRED, DISSENSION, SABOTAGE. One million immigrants continued to arrive in the U.S. every year. At least 15 million more, warned U.S. Immigration Commissioner Frederick Wallis, were certain to come unless […]
New York Daily News, “Teddy Roosevelt’s road from ‘damned cowboy’ to first NYC-born president”
Young Leon Czolgosz was a silly Cleveland millworker who fancied himself an anarchist. “I done my duty!” he cried as horrified mobs fell upon him with their fists. McKinley did not initially seem to be in grave danger. Resting Comfortably, the papers reported. Will Recover. When he died eight days later, his vice president was […]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Eyewitness 1892: Frick returns to work via streetcar”
Frick, the chairman of Carnegie Steel, had been sitting at his desk in the Hussey Building on Pittsburgh’s Fifth Avenue when he was attacked by anarchist Alexander Berkman. The assault occurred on the afternoon of July 23, and it turned much of the public in Pittsburgh against the workers who were on strike at the […]
The Daily Beast, “The Unabomber Is Back to Terrorize America”
He resigned abruptly two years later, and, by 1971, had moved to a remote cabin in Lincoln, Montana, where he lived as a recluse for the next two decades and, as we know now, waged a deadly mail-bombing campaign in the name of anarchism. A “manifesto” he wrote that—along with a tip from his brother—helped […]
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Eyewitness 1892: Attack on Frick hurts Homestead strike”
The shooter, an anarchist named Alexander Berkman, also stabbed the chairman of the Carnegie steel company with a homemade dagger. Frick survived but Berkman’s attempted assassination of the industrial magnate turned public opinion against the men who were occupying the Carnegie works in Homestead. Continue Reading
USA Today, “Buffalo builds on architecture tourism”
That 1901 Pan American Exposition is where anarchist Leon Czolgosz assassinated President William McKinley. Continue Reading
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Let’s learn from the past: Assassination attempt on Henry Clay Frick”
The news received national attention and ignited public criticism of Frick. One dissenter, Russian anarchist Alexander Berkman, devised a plan to assassinate Frick and inspire a national working-class revolt. On July 23, Berkman entered Frick’s office in downtown Pittsburgh and fired three shots from his revolver, two of which hit Frick in the neck. Frick’s […]
CBS Pittsburgh, “Renowned Actor Commemorates 125th Anniversary Of Battle Of Homestead”
Two weeks later Frick would survive an assassination attempt after being shot in his downtown office by the anarchist Alexander Berkman — sympathy for the workers diminished, the governor sent in the state militia and the union was broken. But rather than dusty, old history, Rylance says the battle was over machines replacing labor — […]