Leon Czolgosz was an American laborer born on September 4, 1873, in Michigan. He is best known for assassinating President William McKinley on September 6, 1901, during a public event in Buffalo, New York. Czolgosz was influenced by anarchist ideas and believed that killing the president would help promote social change. After the assassination, Czolgosz was quickly apprehended and put on trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. On October 29, 1901, he was executed in the electric chair, becoming a symbol of political violence in the early 20th century.