Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island is a rocky island in San Francisco Bay, California. It served as a military site and federal penitentiary and is now part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Fort Alcatraz: A nineteenth-century U.S. Army fortification built on Alcatraz Island to defend San Francisco Bay. The island’s military use began with this coastal defense installation.
Escape from Alcatraz: The history of attempts to escape from the federal prison on Alcatraz Island. The bay’s cold water and strong currents made escape attempts especially dangerous.
Al Capone: An American organized-crime figure imprisoned at Alcatraz from 1934 to 1939. His confinement helped establish the prison’s reputation for holding notorious inmates.
Federal prison closure: The termination of Alcatraz’s federal penitentiary operations in 1963. Closure ended the island’s prison era and left its future uncertain.
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary: A federal prison operated on Alcatraz Island from 1934 to 1963 for inmates considered difficult to manage elsewhere. It made the island internationally known as a high-security prison.
Alcatraz escape of 1962: A 1962 escape attempt by Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, whose fate remains unknown. It became the island’s most famous escape attempt.
Robert Stroud: An American prisoner and author known as the “Birdman of Alcatraz,” though he kept birds at Leavenworth, not Alcatraz. His popular nickname links his story to the island despite the mistaken association.
Native American activism: Political organizing by Indigenous peoples in the United States to defend rights, sovereignty, and communities. The Alcatraz occupation helped bring this activism to national attention.
United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz: The official name of the federal penitentiary that operated on Alcatraz Island from 1934 to 1963. This formal designation identifies the prison phase of the island’s history.
San Francisco Bay: A Pacific Ocean estuary in Northern California, bordered by the San Francisco Bay Area. Its waters formed the natural barrier surrounding the island.

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