John Schrank | |
|---|---|
 Schrank in 1912 | |
| Born | March 5, 1876 |
| Died | September 15, 1943 (aged 67) Waupun, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Other names | John Flamming[1] John Flamming Schrank[2]: 6 |
| Citizenship | German (1876–1889) American (1897–1943) |
| Occupation | Saloonkeeper |
| Known for | 1912 attempted assassination of Theodore Roosevelt |
John Flammang Schrank (born Johann Nepomuk Schrank; March 5, 1876 – September 15, 1943), was a German-American tavern owner from Bavaria who attempted to assassinate former President Theodore Roosevelt outside of the Gilpatrick Hotel in Milwaukee on October 14, 1912. Schrank was a wealthy man who claimed to have visions telling him that he had to stop Theodore Roosevelt from being elected to a third term as President of the United States. His shot hit Roosevelt in the chest at very close range, but the assassination attempt was not successful; he was immediately arrested, and was later adjudicated insane.
Schrank had hallucinations and claimed that the ghost of assassinated US President William McKinley told him that Roosevelt was his murderer, and that the ghost asked Schrank to avenge his death. When he was brought before Judge August C. Backus in Milwaukee Municipal Court he quickly pleaded guilty to shooting Roosevelt. Judge Backus did not accept the guilty plea, and appointed a panel to determine if Schrank was mentally fit. The panel decided that Schrank was insane, and in November 1912 he was committed to the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane; no one visited him or sent him any mail during his 31 years there.