Buffalo was hot. It was September 6, 1901, and the Pan-American Exposition was in full swing, a sprawling celebration of American progress and electricity. President William McKinley was the man of the hour, standing inside the ornate Temple of Music, shaking hands with an endless line of citizens. He loved this stuff. His advisors hated it. They worried about the crowds, but McKinley was a "man of the people" type. He didn't know that standing in that line was a 28-year-old out-of-work wireworker named Leon Czolgosz.
Leon had a secret. He wasn't there for a handshake. Tucked into his right hand was a .32-caliber Iver Johnson revolver, completely wrapped in a white handkerchief. To the guards, it just looked like a man with a bandaged injury or perhaps someone trying to wipe away the stifling Buffalo humidity.
When you ask who shot pres mckinley, the name Leon Czolgosz is the short answer. But the "why" and the "how" are where things get genuinely weird and tragic.
The Man Behind the Handkerchief
Leon Czolgosz wasn't some high-profile political rival. Honestly, he was a bit of a loner. Born in Michigan to Polish immigrants, he’d been chewed up and spit out by the industrial machine of the late 1800s. He lost his job during the Panic of 1893. He watched strikes get crushed. He felt like the system was rigged for the rich and that guys like McKinley were the ones pulling the strings.
He fell into anarchism. It wasn't just a hobby; it was an obsession. He’d listen to Emma Goldman speak and read about European anarchists knocking off kings and prime ministers. To Leon, killing the President wasn't just murder. It was a "duty."
Interestingly, the actual anarchist groups in Cleveland and Chicago didn't even like him. They thought he was weird. Some even suspected he was a government spy because he asked too many blunt questions about "doing the deed." He was an outsider even among the radicals.
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The Fatal Handshake
At 4:07 p.m., the line moved forward. McKinley reached out to shake Leon’s left hand, since the right appeared "injured" by that bandage. Instead of a grip, McKinley got two gunshots at point-blank range.
The first bullet hit a button on McKinley’s suit and basically just bruised him. Lucky, right? Not quite. The second bullet went deep into his abdomen.
The scene was pure chaos. An African American waiter named James "Big Jim" Parker, who was standing right behind Czolgosz, didn't hesitate. He leveled the assassin with a punch to the jaw, likely saving the President from a third shot. Soldiers and guards jumped in, pummeling Leon until he was a bloody mess.
McKinley, even while bleeding out, gasped, "Go easy on him, boys." He was literally trying to stop a lynch mob while holding his stomach.
Why the Surgery Failed So Badly
You’d think a President would get the best medical care on earth. Well, he did, but 1901 "best" was pretty terrifying.
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The Exposition had a tiny hospital, but it wasn't ready for a gunshot wound to the gut. The leading surgeon in the area, Dr. Roswell Park, was busy performing a delicate neck surgery in Niagara Falls. They sent a special train to get him, but it took too long.
In the meantime, a gynecologist named Matthew Mann took the lead. Yes, you read that right. A gynecologist operated on the President's stomach.
- They had no electric lights in the operating room.
- They had to use a reflected sunbeam and a few candles to see what they were doing.
- The doctors didn't use an X-ray, even though a primitive X-ray machine was literally on display at the Exposition nearby.
They couldn't find the bullet. Eventually, they just gave up, sewed him shut, and hoped for the best. For a few days, it actually looked like he might make it. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt even went on a hiking trip in the Adirondacks because the reports were so positive.
Then, the infection set in. Gangrene.
The Aftermath of the Buffalo Shooting
On September 14, eight days after the shooting, William McKinley died. Leon Czolgosz didn't show much remorse. During his trial, which was incredibly fast (it only lasted about eight hours of actual testimony), he sat mostly silent.
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He was executed by electric chair on October 29, 1901. To make sure he didn't become some kind of martyr for the anarchist movement, the prison officials poured sulfuric acid into his coffin to dissolve his body.
But the biggest change wasn't the death of the assassin. It was the birth of the modern presidency.
- The Secret Service: Before this, the Secret Service mostly hunted counterfeiters. After McKinley, they were officially tasked with protecting the President full-time.
- TR Takes the Stage: Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest president in history. He was a "trust-buster" who fundamentally changed how the U.S. government dealt with big corporations.
- Anti-Anarchist Laws: The government went on a tear, passing laws like the Immigration Act of 1903 to keep radicals out of the country.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs
If you're looking to dig deeper into who shot pres mckinley or visit the sites where this history happened, here is what you should do:
- Visit the Site: The Temple of Music was torn down, but there’s a small stone marker in a median on Fordham Drive in Buffalo, NY, marking the exact spot. It's surprisingly quiet and humble.
- Check the Weapon: The Iver Johnson revolver used by Czolgosz is actually on display at the Buffalo History Museum. Seeing it in person makes the "handkerchief trick" seem much more real.
- Read the Source Material: If you want the raw version of the story, look up the "Czolgosz Confession" published in the New York Times on September 8, 1901. It’s a chilling look at his mindset.
- Research the "Secret Service" Shift: Look into the 1906 legislation that formally permanentized presidential protection; it's a direct result of the Buffalo failure.
History isn't just dates; it's a series of weird, small moments—like a gynecologist using a candle to look for a bullet—that change the world forever.