On this day in 1963, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in the San Francisco Bay was shut down. Alcatraz was a maximum-security facility from 1934 to 1963.

Get A Piece of the Rock. Alcatraz Island is a 22-acre rock outcropping 1-1/2 miles offshore in San Francisco Bay.

First Convicts. The first convicts who arrived in 1934 had been transferred from McNeil Island Prison in Washington. They joined a few military prisoners left over from the island's days as a US Army prison.

Going to the Birds. When the Spanish explorers first arrived on Alcatraz Island in the 1700s, its only inhabitants were sea birds. They named it Isla de los Alcatraces ~ Island of the Pelicans. They built a fort there.

Born in the USA. Alcatraz came under US control in 1851. From 1859 on, it was used to house American military criminals. Then, in the early 1930s, Alcatraz was fortified into a high-security federal penitentiary.

Ship of Criminals. In late August of 1934, another shipload of criminals arrived. On board was the infamous mobster ~ Al Capone. In September, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, another famous criminal, landed on Alcatraz.

Hard Time. Over the next 30 years, over 1,500 men did time at Alcatraz. Although many attempted, no prisoner was known to have successfully escaped "The Rock." However, the bodies of several escapees who were believed to have drowned in the waters of San Francisco Bay were never found.

Swims with Sharks... Only one man ~ John Paul Scott ~ was recorded to have reached the mainland. He came ashore at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, collapsed exhausted, and was immediately arrested.