For nearly 30 years, the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, off the coast of San Francisco, was America’s most infamous maximum-security prison. Ever heard of Al “Scarface” Capone? Or George “Machine Gun” Kelly? Both did time on Alcatraz Island.
But it wasn’t just for gangsters. Most of its prisoners were sent there because they wouldn’t conform to the rules of other prisons. At Alcatraz, following the rules was mandatory if inmates wanted to earn privileges beyond the food, clothing, shelter, and medical care they were required to receive.
Alcatraz Island wasn’t always a prison though.
It was inhabited solely by pelicans before it became a military reservation in 1850. It’s how it got its former name, “La Isla de los Alcatraces” — Island of the Pelicans in Spanish. But it didn’t take long for the government to turn the island into a military prison for traitors and deserters.
In the 1930s, the government once again found the island’s remote location ideal for a high-security prison, officially, the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, a place that would cut its inmates off from the outside world.
From 1934-1963, Alcatraz, aka “The Rock,” was considered America’s strongest prison. And its reputation for being impossible to escape (until, of course, some prisoners did) was one of the main reasons why notorious criminals like Al “Scarface” Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly were sent there.
Not all of the 1,576 prisoners held over the years were dangerous gangsters. Some were incarcerated to send a message. Take Frank Lucas Bolt who was the first prisoner transferred to Alcatraz after being convicted of sodomy — FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover signed the admission papers himself.
Today, Alcatraz welcomes tourists eager to learn about its dark history, rather than mobsters and gangsters. And you can cruise to the island to hear all about it!
Before you go, we’ve rounded up its most notorious prisoners through the years. Let’s check out their rap sheets.
Nickname: Scarface, a nickname for the scars on his face that he got in a bar fight
Criminal record: While Al Capone holds the title as Chicago’s most notorious mob boss, he’s also remembered as a modern-day Robin Hood who was always on the side of “the people.”
He started his life of crime at a young age, and was finally indicted for income tax evasion in 1931 when the federal government couldn’t get him for his role in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
Before he was sent to Alcatraz, Capone was living it up in Atlanta and other prisons, until he was caught bribing the guards for luxuries like home-cooked meals and comfy bedding. He might have tried to get the same privileges when he first arrived at “The Rock,” but those efforts came to nothing. Instead he became an avid reader and learned to play the banjo during his sentence.
Time at Alcatraz: 1934-1939
Nickname: Machine Gun
Criminal record: George “Machine Gun” Kelly started bootlegging as a side hustle when he couldn’t find a steady job that paid a decent wage. He was mostly a small-time criminal until he met and married Kathryn Thorne, who encouraged his bank-robbing sprees and created the image of “Machine Gun Kelly” for underground marketing purposes.
Kelly was eventually sent to Leavenworth prison in Kansas for kidnapping a wealthy oil tycoon, but he was transferred to Alcatraz when he threatened to escape.
Though he often boasted to his fellow prisoners about murders and robberies he never actually committed, Kelly proved to be a model inmate. He worked in the laundry, held an administrative role in the industries office, and even served as an altar boy in the prison chapel.
Time at Alcatraz: 1934-1951
Nickname: The Birdman
Criminal record: Despite his nickname, Robert Stroud never actually cared for any birds in Alcatraz, but rather during the time he spent in Leavenworth.
It started with a single wounded canary he found in the recreation yard and developed into a hobby where he would nurse birds to health and even breed them. A rather gentle hobby for a dangerous criminal who was often relegated to solitary confinement.
After carefully studying their habits, he even wrote two books on canaries and their diseases and his observations would benefit research on canaries for years to come. In 1962, he became the subject of the major motion picture “Birdman of Alcatraz” starring Burt Lancaster but was never allowed to see it.
Time at Alcatraz: 1942-1959
Nickname: Creepy Karpis, so-called for his “creepy” smile
Criminal record: Alvin Karpis holds the record for the prisoner with the longest sentence at Alcatraz: 26 years. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for 10 murders, six kidnappings, and one robbery. Legend has it that J. Edgar Hoover even captured Creepy Karpis himself.
In 1931, he joined forces with “The Bloody Barkers,” forming one of the most wanted criminal gangs of the depression era. The Karpis-Barker gang was known for robbing banks, hijacking mail deliveries, and kidnapping. It was a kidnapping that saw Karpis’ and the gang’s downfall, and he and Arthur Barker (another criminal on this list!) would both serve time at Alcatraz.
Time at Alcatraz: 1936-1959
Nickname: Doc
Criminal record: Arthur “Doc” Barker was one of Kate “Ma” Barker’s sons, who were committing crimes from an early age. The Bloody Barkers were a deadly group, known for killing anyone, including innocent bystanders, who got in their way.
Barker shot and killed a policeman during an armed robbery committed by the Karpis-Barker gang, but it was the kidnapping of two wealthy Minnesota men that eventually led to his capture.
While at Alcatraz, he planned to escape with two other prisoners but was shot and killed by the guards.
Time at Alcatraz: 1935-1939
Nickname: Whitey
Criminal record: James “Whitey” Bulger’s loyalty to South Boston sometimes led to his depiction in local folklore as a Robin Hood figure who did wrong only to protect the neighborhood’s residents. That wrongdoing allegedly involved targeting drug kingpins and organizers of illegal gambling operations.
Preferring the streets to the classroom, Bulger was in trouble with the law from starting at a young age. He joined the Air Force and completed basic training, but he acquired a record of countless assaults and was arrested in 1950 for going AWOL.
When he was sent to Alcatraz, he had started serving a 20-year sentence in Atlanta for perpetrating a string of armed robberies.
He was re-arrested as late as 2011 and later died in prison.
Time at Alcatraz: 1959-1962
Nickname: “Smiling Bandit,” “Mail Train Bandit,” “King of the Escape Artists”
Criminal record: During the Roaring Twenties, Roy Gardner was America’s most notorious outlaw and infamous prison escapee. Once captured, he tried to tunnel under a wall, and later led a prison break holding two guards and the captain hostage.
Because of his many attempts to flee, Gardner was eventually transferred to Alcatraz, which he later described as “the toughest, hardest place in the world.” He even wrote a biography about his time there, “Hellcatraz,” which recounts tales of his life in the bleak prison.
Time at Alcatraz: 1934-1939
Nickname: No official nickname despite being a skilled prison escape artist
Criminal record: By the time he was sent to Alcatraz, Frank Lee Morris had not only spent his life in the prison system, but had developed an expertise in how to escape them. His escape attempts are what led federal officials to send Morris to the one prison that had thus far been impossible to escape: Alcatraz.
On the night of June 11, 1962, Morris and the Anglin brothers managed to escape Alcatraz after months of detailed planning. The FBI resolved that the Great Escape couldn’t have been successful — the men must have drowned. Yet some people argue that the escape was successful because the prisoner’s bodies were never found.
Time at Alcatraz: 1960-1962
Think Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers could have escaped Alcatraz? There’s only one way to find out. If you’re planning a trip to San Francisco, then be sure to make Alcatraz Island one of your stops.
Of course, you’ll learn about much more than these notorious Alcatraz prisoners if you take an Alcatraz tour. You’ll hear about the many roles the island has held over the years, visit the gardens and scenic viewpoints, and you can even tour Fisherman’s Wharf, where your cruise departs from, with a local to see the best sights.
There’s so much rich history on Alcatraz and the surrounding area. Don’t miss it on your visit to the Bay Area!