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| Theodore Roosevelt |
Three and a half years after he left office in March 1909, Roosevelt was running for President as a member of the Progressive Party or it was popularly known as the (Bull Moose Party). Before a campaign speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, John F. Schrank, a saloon-keeper from New York who had been stalking him for weeks, shot Roosevelt once in the chest with a .38 caliber revolver. The 50-page text of his campaign speech folded over twice in Roosevelt's breast pocket and a metal glasses case slowed the bullet, saving his life. Schrank was immediately disarmed, captured and may have been lynched had Roosevelt not shouted for Schrank to remain unharmed. Correctly determining that he was not mortally wounded, Roosevelt went on with his scheduled speech despite the protests of his staff. He spoke for about 90 minutes, at one point showing his bloodied shirt to the crowd and remarking that "It takes more than that to kill a bull moose." After the speech, Roosevelt finally went to the hospital where it was discovered that the bullet had lodged between his ribs. Doctors determined that it would be too risky to remove it so it remained in Roosevelt's body for the rest of his life. He spent about two weeks recuperating before returning to the campaign trail. At Schrank's trial, the would-be assassin claimed that William McKinley had visited him in a dream and told him to avenge his assassination by killing Roosevelt. He was found legally insane and was institutionalized until his death in 1943.
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| Roosevelts speech and eye glass case that saved his life |
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| X-ray of Roosevelt's chest |
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| X-ray of bullet |
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| Roosevelt's bloody shirt |
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| Car in which Roosevelt was shot |
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