6 September: William McKinley

On this date in 1901 President William McKinley was shot at a reception in Buffalo, by Leon Czolgosz, a Polish man associated with the Anarchist movement. Mckinley, died 8 days later, the third US president to be assassinated. 10 things you might not know about him:

1. He was born in Niles, Ohio on 29 January 1843. His father owned a small iron foundry. The family lived in Niles until William was ten, when they moved to Poland, another town in Ohio.

2. He studied at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania and Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, but he didn’t graduate from either due to health and financial issues.

3. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War, reaching the rank of second lieutenant, and received a brevet commission to major. He served under Rutherford B. Hayes, another future President.

4. After the war, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in Ohio in March 1867.

5. In 1896, McKinley won the Republican presidential nomination. His opponent was William Jennings Bryan. He won the popular vote by about 600,000 votes. It was the largest victory in 25 years. William McKinley was the fifth president from Ohio in just 28 years.

6. He was the first president to ride in a car.

7. McKinley wore a signature pink Carnation on his lapel. He often gave it to friends and acquaintances as a gesture of affection.

8. His first lady was Ida Saxton, who he’d married in 1871. They met when she was a cashier at his father’s bank. Their first daughter, Katherine, died of typhoid at the age of three and their second daughter. Ida, only lived for three months. Ida senior’s health deteriorated severely after that. She had epilepsy and sometimes needed sedation to get her through public functions. Sometimes she’d have an epileptic fit and when that happened, McKinley would throw a handkerchief over her face. During his presidency, he spent most evenings playing cards with Ida.

9. A devout Christian, McKinley originally wanted to be a Methodist minister. He didn’t like swearing and always prayed before making big decisions. When he was shot, he allegedly asked the mob attacking his shooter not to hurt him, saying “It must have been some poor misguided fellow,” and “He didn’t know, poor fellow, what he was doing. He couldn’t have known.”

10. After the shooting a team of available doctors was hastily convened to operate on the President. The team was led by a gynaecologist called Matthew Mann. The team couldn’t find the second bullet, even though they had access to a brand new X Ray machine. They didn’t use it, because they thought McKinley was getting better. However, he died 8 days later when gangrene set in around the path of the bullet.

Character birthday

Professor Power, aka Seth Power, leader of the group of villains known as the Power League. He can detect illusions and has various immunities. When injured, he regenerates. He started his career as a member of a secret enclave of evil scientists run by the being known as The Brain. He remains a member, not out of loyalty but so he can steal resources and ideas to use in his own organisation, the Power League.