Today In History 1901, Buffalo, NY: President William McKinley is shot: Everyone knows about the Lincoln assassination and JFK assassination, perhaps not as much about Garfield, and even less about McKinley. Today we will learn a little about our 25th president. . Keep Reading...

William McKinley Jr. was born January 29, 1843 in Niles, Ohio. He dropped the "junior" after his fathers death in 1892. He was the 7th of 9 children. The McKinley's were of English and Scots-Irish descent.

In 1860 McKinley enrolled in Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania but got ill and returned home a year later. He took work as a postal worker and later a schoolteacher. In 1861 Civil War broke out and McKinley enlisted in the Union Army, rising to the rank of Brevet Major

After the war McKinley returned to Ohio, met and later married Ida Saxton in 1871, the daughter of a prominent banking family in Canton. The couple had 2 kids, but neither survived to adulthood. Partially because of this Ida would suffer from severe mental health her whole life

McKinley began to practice law and eventually got into politics. He was elected to Ohio congress in 1876 and eventually became Governor. He served as the 39th governor of Ohio from 1892-1896. In 1896 William McKinley became the 25th president of the United States - A Republican

McKinley won a 2nd term in 1900 against William Jennings Bryan in an electoral landslide 292-155. He celebrated this victory with a tour around the country, which would end in Buffalo, at the Pan-American Exposition (Worlds fair) in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo at the time was the 8th largest city in the nation, with a population of about 350,000. Buffalo was also chosen because of the railroad. Buffalo was accessible by train to over 40 million people. .

Buffalo was also just 25 miles from Niagara Falls, which had just recently been converted to provide electricity to Buffalo, and electrify the World's Fair. It was an epic event. .

At the Exposition McKinley, who was very popular, began shaking hands with his adoring fans. One of the people in line was Leon Czolgosz, a Polish-American anarchist. Czolgosz had a gun concealed under a handkerchief and shot McKinley twice in the stomach at point-blank range

McKinley would die of his wounds a week later, on September 14, 1901. His death spurred an expansion of the secret service. He was now the 3rd president shot dead in less than a 40 years span. (There's also a Robert Todd Lincoln side story here. We'll get into that another time)

McKinley did have security with him at the time of the shooting. He had 18 exposition guards, 7 soldiers provided by the 73rd seacoast artillery, and 3 Secret Service agents. But unlike today they kept a distance from the president.

McKinley's successor, and VP, Teddy Roosevelt would really be the 1st president with what we would consider the modern standard of secret service protection. McKinley was considered a great president, allowing Roosevelt to build on successes and become a beloved president himself

Leon Czolgosz would be executed via electric chair on October 29, 1901. He was 28 years old

There aren't all too many books written about the McKinley assassination, however this one I read was very good.

I'd also love to tell you more about Ida Saxton McKinley. Really a very interesting story. Perhaps a little later today, or tomorrow I'll put something together about her. She always intrigued me.