"Bird Man Of Alcatraz"

Bird Man of Alcatraz was a famous Alcatraz prisoner. Visting his jail cell is one of the fun San Francisco things to do. I have visited Robert Stroud's cell at Alcatraz Prison many times and it isn't pretty at all. Learn here why he got the nickname Birdman Of Alcatraz.

Robert Stroud - The Birdman Of Alcatraz

Some Facts About Robert Stroud's Life

• Real name: Robert Stroud
• Crimes: was a pimp who shot, killed and robbed a bartender who didn't pay one of his "girls".
• Worst crime: stabbed a prison guard to death in front of 1200 inmates.
• His mother saved him from execution by fighting for him and he ended up with life in prison.
• At Leavenworth the Bird Man had 300 birds.
• He operated a bird breeding business he ran out of the two adjoining cells to him.
• He might have worked with the birds because he was given alcohol for his experiments.
• They searched his cell and found 3 1/2 gallons of alcohol and a dagger.
• He smuggled letters to the outside in the bottoms of bird cages.
• He never worked with birds at Alcatraz Prison - it wasn't allowed.
• He wrote a book called Stroud's Digest on the Diseases of Birds which helped poultrymen.
• He asked Attorney General Robert Kennedy to go home before he died - he was told he was already home - which was prison for over 50 years.

The Bird Man Of Alcatraz did not have a very happy life. The fictitious movie about his life where he was portrayed by Burt Lancaster as a kind grandfatherly man made him famous. The guards who knew him at Alcatraz prison considered him one of the most serious psychopaths in it's history.

Learn More About Alcatraz
Besides The Bird Man of Alcatraz