page_title: Robert Stroud
section_title: Alcatraz
hierarchical_section_title: Robert Stroud / Alcatraz
caption_attribution_description: Title: Warden's notebook page, with "mug shot," of Robert Stroud, 594-AZ, aka "The Birdman of Alcatraz." Production Date: January 19, 1917 Warden's notebook page, with "mug shot," of Robert Stroud, 594-AZ, aka "The Birdman of Alcatraz.", 1942 - 1942&#160;?; Warden's Notebook Pages, 1934 – 1963 From: Records of the Bureau of Prisons, 1870 - 1981; Record Group 129; National Archives. Persistent URL: arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ExternalIdSearch?id=296722 This is a page from the Alcatraz Warden's notebook on Robert Stroud, 594-AZ, aka "the Birdman of Alcatraz," born on January 28, 1890. Find more online records on Alcatraz [/research/arc/topics/prisons/index.html#alcatraz More Online Records from the U.S. Penitentiary on Alcatraz] [/pacific/education/index.html Educational Resources on California History] [/research/prisons.html Research Prisons and Penitentiaries][/research/guide-fed-records/groups/129.html RG 129: Records of the Bureau of Prisons] Access Restrictions: Unrestricted Use Restrictions: Unrestricted
context_page_description: Robert Franklin Stroud, known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz", was a convicted murderer, American federal prisoner and author who has been cited as one of the most notorious criminals in the United States. During his time at Leavenworth Penitentiary, he reared and sold birds and became a respected ornithologist, although regulations did not allow him to keep birds at Alcatraz, where he was incarcerated from 1942 to 1959. Stroud was never released from the federal prison system; he was imprisoned from 1909 to his death in 1963.
  Born in Seattle, Washington, Stroud ran away from his abusive father at the age of 13, and by the time he was 18, he had become a pimp in the Alaska Territory. In January 1909, he shot and killed a bartender who attacked his mistress, a crime for which he was sentenced to 12 years in the federal penitentiary on McNeil Island in Puget Sound. Stroud gained a reputation as a dangerous inmate who frequently had confrontations with fellow inmates and staff, and in 1916, he stabbed and killed a guard. Stroud was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to hang, but after several trials his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in solitary confinement.
context_section_description: On December 19, 1942, Stroud was transferred to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, and became inmate #594. He reportedly was not informed in advance that he was to leave Leavenworth and his beloved birds, and was given just 10 minutes' notice of his departure. His birds and equipment were sent to his brother as Alcatraz's strict policies meant that he was unable to continue his avocation. He spent six years in segregation and another 11 confined to the hospital wing at the penitentiary.
  In 1943, he was assessed by psychiatrist Romney M. Ritchey, who diagnosed him as a psychopath, with an I.Q. of 112 (although his initial report in 1942 based on Leavenworth states that he had an I.Q. of 116). While there, he wrote two manuscripts: Bobbie, an autobiography, and Looking Outward: A History of the U.S. Prison System from Colonial Times to the Formation of the Bureau of Prisons. A judge ruled that Stroud had the right to write and keep such manuscripts, but upheld the warden's decision to ban their publication. After Stroud's death, the transcripts were delivered to his lawyer, Richard English.
  Rumors of Stroud's homosexuality were noted at Alcatraz. According to Donald Hurley, whose father was a guard at Alcatraz, "Whenever Stroud was around anyone, which was seldom, he was watched very closely, as prison officials were very aware of his overt homosexual tendencies." In an interview with Hurley for his book, a former inmate heard Stroud was always in 'dog block' (solitary confinement) or later in the hospital because he was a 'wolf' (aggressive homosexual) who had a bad temper." 
  In February 1963 Stroud met and talked with actor Burt Lancaster, who portrayed him in The Birdman of Alcatraz. Stroud never got to see the film or read the book it was based on but did share on one of the problems that prevented parole, that he was an "admitted homosexual." Lancaster quoted Stroud as saying, "Let's face it, I am 73 years old. Does that answer your question about whether I would be a dangerous homosexual?"
  During his 17-year term at Alcatraz, Stroud was allowed access to the prison library, and began studying law. Occasionally, he was permitted to play chess with one of the guards. Stroud began petitioning the government that his long prison term amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. In 1959, with his health failing, Stroud was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.  However, his attempts to be released were unsuccessful.
caption: Stroud's mug shot #594-AZ taken in 1942 and information in the warden's notebook at Alcatraz
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