Leon Czolgosz

As a young man, Leon Czolgosz (1873-1901) worked in a wire mill in Cleveland, Ohio. He was a good employee, retaining his job even through an economic depression. In 1898 he suffered a breakdown, and returned to the family farm. He made trips to hear the anarchist leader Emma Goldman speak, and approached several anarchist groups, who rebuffed him. In 1901, Czolgosz moved to Buffalo, New York, site of the Pan American Exposition. There, in a receiving line on September 6, he shot President McKinley two times. Czolgosz--who gave his name to police as Fred Nieman, or Fred Nobody--later stated in reference to his decision to assassinate McKinley, "I didn't believe one man should have so much service, and another man have none." After a brief trial, Czolgosz was convicted. He was executed on October 29, 1901.