John Flammang Schrank
| John Flammang Schrank | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
March 5, 1876 Erding, Bavaria |
| Died | September 15, 1943 (aged 67) Central State Mental Hospital Waupun, Wisconsin |
John Flammang Schrank (March 5, 1876 – September 15, 1943) was a resident of New York, best known for his attempt to assassinate former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt on October 14, 1912, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Schrank was born in Erding, Bavaria on March 5, 1876. He emigrated to America at the age of 9. His parents died soon after, leaving Schrank to work for his uncle, a New York tavern owner and landlord. Upon their deaths Schrank's aunt and uncle left him valuable properties, with the expectation that Schrank could live a quiet and peaceful life. Schrank was heartbroken, not just because he had lost his second set of parents, but also because his first and only girlfriend Emily Ziegler had died in the General Slocum disaster on New York's East River.
Schrank sold the properties, and drifted around the East Coast for years. He became profoundly religious, and a fluent Bible scholar whose debating skills were well-known around his neighborhood's watering holes and public parks. He wrote spare and vivid poetry. He spent a great deal of time walking around city streets at night. He caused no documented trouble.
The 1912 Presidential election campaign was characterized by a serious split in the Republican Party between the conservative wing under President William Howard Taft and the liberal/reform wing under ex-President Theodore Roosevelt. After a bitter confrontation at the Republican Convention, Taft won renomination. Roosevelt led a bolt of his followers, who held a convention and nominated him for President on the ticket of the Progressive Party, nicknamed the "Bull Moose Party". Taft and his supporters attacked Roosevelt for being power-hungry, and seeking to break the tradition that U.S. Presidents only serve up to two terms in office.
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