109

Exceedingly uncommon autograph by President McKinley's assassin

Leon Czolgosz

Brief Autograph Letter Signed, "Fred C. Niman," to "Sir Knights and Brothers":

"I am under Dr. J[ohn J.] Koller's treatment and not able to work. Brother Call[?] was visiting me this week." 1 page, 8vo, ruled paper, with integral blank; faint toning at lower and right edges, pin holes at upper left, folds.

Orange, OH, 11 August 1899.

  • Notes: On September 6, 1901, Leon Czolgosz shot at close range President William McKinley, who died a week later from the infection caused by the wounds. Czolgosz--an anarchist who had trouble remaining employed, blaming economic conditions for which he saw McKinley as responsible--was immediately seized, tried, and on October 29, executed. Czolgosz had lived in Warrensville, OH, working at the nearby Newburg wire mill, where he had become a member of the Forest City Castle Lodge, No 22, of the Golden Eagle. After having been fired from the mill and blacklisted, he adopted a pseudonym, "Frederick C. Nieman," which he spelled variously on different occasions, stating at one point that he chose the name because it suggested the German word "Niemand"--Nobody. In 1898, Czolgosz quit the mill because of poor health, spending much of his time idle, attending anarchist lectures and reading political newspapers, before advancing on the president in Buffalo, New York.
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April 9, 2026 12:00 PM EDT
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