Robert F. Stroud
Alcatraz register no. 594-AZ. The warden's notebook page records receipt from Leavenworth on 19 December 1942 under a life sentence for murder; the Leavenworth file records the same sentence and a 1922 receipt. The National Archives and the Bureau of Prisons give different destinations for his 1959 transfer.
- Born
- 1890-01-28
- Died
- 1963-11-21
- Aliases
- The Birdman of Alcatraz (catalog title)
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records state. The identification photograph is a Bureau of Prisons record, public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.
On the record
- 1920-05-10 — The Leavenworth Associate Warden's Record Card (NAID 24731415) gives offense "Murder," sentence "Life," date imposed 5-10-1920 at D Kansas, received and sentence begins 2-28-1922, number 17431-L; its avocational interests read "Scientific Study of Birds."
- 1942-12-19 — The Alcatraz warden's notebook page (NAID 296722) records him received at Alcatraz from USP Leavenworth, age 52, date of birth Jan. 28, 1890, offense "Murder," district "D-Kansas-Topeka," escape record "Has no escape record."
- 1959-07-15 — The catalog's case-file description (NAID 117696972) gives a transfer on 07/15/1959 to "US PENITENTIARY, HAZELTON" as printed. The Bureau of Prisons says that in 1959 he was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners at Springfield, Missouri. This page records both and does not choose.
- 1963-11-21 — The Bureau of Prisons says he died on November 21, 1963 at the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri; the catalog gives the same date and place.
- 1934/1963 — The Bureau of Prisons says Stroud "never had any birds at Alcatraz" and that he spent 54 years of his life behind bars.
Stroud is not an organized-crime figure; he is filed here because his Alcatraz and Leavenworth records are among the federal prison records this archive holds. The National Archives lists him at register number 594; a different man, Mack Stroud, is number 165. The Alcatraz case file, about 16,500 pages, is described in the catalog but is not digitized. The role and family fields are left empty because no record cited here states either. Offenses are given as the notebook form prints them; the “Reason for Transfer” boxes are staff opinion and are not used.
Records
itemAlcatraz warden's notebook page for Robert F. Stroud, No. 594Bureau of Prisons notebook page with the identification photograph of Robert F. Stroud, No. 594-AZ, received at Alcatraz from Leavenworth on 19 December 1942 under a life sentence for murder (District of Kansas). The catalog title adds "aka The Birdman of Alcatraz." A copy is stored here.itemRobert Stroud's Alcatraz inmate case file, No. 594 (National Archives catalog entry)Catalog entry for the Alcatraz case file of register no. 594, about 16,500 pages, not digitized. The description gives receipt from Leavenworth on 19 December 1942 and a 1959 transfer whose destination conflicts with the Bureau of Prisons' account.
itemRobert Stroud, Leavenworth inmate file, No. 17431-L (National Archives)Leavenworth inmate file of Robert F. Stroud, 97 digitized pages. Page 2, stored here, is an Associate Warden's Record Card giving offense murder, a life sentence imposed 10 May 1920, and receipt on 28 February 1922.itemAlcatraz (Federal Bureau of Prisons history page)The Bureau of Prisons' history page on Alcatraz names Al Capone among the well-known criminals who did time there, and says most of its prisoners were not well-known gangsters.