Who Is Giuseppe Zangara? Age, Biography, and Wiki
Giuseppe Zangara was born on September 7, 1900. As of 2025, he would have been 125 years old if he were still alive. Zangara emigrated to the United States from Italy in 1920, where he would later achieve notoriety for his assassination attempt on Roosevelt in 1933. His life was marked by turbulence, including his struggles with mental health and societal acceptance.
| Occupation | Presidents |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | September 7, 1900 |
| Age | 32 Years |
| Birth Place | Ferruzzano, Calabria, Italy |
| Horoscope | Virgo |
| Country | Italy |
| Date of death | 20 March, 1933 |
| Died Place | Florida State Prison, Raiford, Florida, U.S. |
Popularity
Giuseppe Zangara's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
Details about Zangara's physical characteristics are limited, given the focus on his actions rather than his appearance. However, historical records suggest he stood approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed around 160 pounds at the time of his trial.
On February 15, 1933, Roosevelt was giving an impromptu speech at night from the back of an open car in the Bayfront Park area of Miami, Florida, where Zangara was working the occasional odd job and living off his savings.
Zangara, armed with a .32-caliber US Revolver Company revolver he had bought for $8 at a local pawn shop, joined the crowd of spectators, but as he was only 5 ft tall, he was unable to see over other people and had to stand on a wobbly bench, where Mrs. Lillian Cross was already standing for a better view.
Zangara got on the bench to get a clear aim at his target from 25 feet away. He placed his gun near Mrs. Cross's right shoulder (she was only about 4 inches taller than he and weighed 105 pounds).
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
Giuseppe Zangara's personal life is not well-documented. He arrived in the United States alone and seemingly did not marry or have any known long-term relationships. Consequently, there is no information regarding a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife associated with Zangara.
Zangara had little education and worked as a bricklayer. He suffered severe pain in his abdomen, which doctors told him was chronic and incurable. In 1926 he underwent an appendectomy, but it was no help; if anything, it may have made his pain worse.
The doctors who performed his autopsy attributed his abdominal pain to adhesions they found on his gallbladder. In his prison memoir, Zangara himself attributed his pain to being forced to do grueling physical labor on his father's farm from an early age. He wrote that his pain began when he was six years old.
Net Worth and Salary
As an assassin, Zangara did not accumulate traditional wealth. His criminal activities, coupled with his brief incarceration and execution in 1933, prevented the establishment of a notable net worth. However, some sources estimate his net worth to be virtually non-existent, as he dedicated his life to political radicalism rather than profit.
Career, Business, and Investments
Giuseppe Zangara was primarily known for his radical political views rather than a formal career. Before the assassination attempt, he worked various low-paying jobs, including as a laborer and in food service. His radicalization was spurred by the socio-economic conditions of the Great Depression, fueling his disdain for political leaders whom he believed were responsible for the suffering of the working-class individuals like himself.
Social Network
Zangara's social network was primarily comprised of immigrants and labor activists. Due to his eventual notoriety, he became linked with various radical groups. Still, his lack of meaningful long-term relationships means that this network likely dissipated after his arrest and execution.
Zangara pleaded guilty to the additional murder charge and was sentenced to death by Circuit Court Judge Uly Thompson. Zangara said after hearing his sentence: "You give me electric chair. I no afraid of that chair! You one of capitalists. You is crook man too. Put me in electric chair.
I no care!" Under Florida law, a convicted murderer could not share cell space with another prisoner before his execution, but another convicted murderer was already awaiting execution at Raiford. Zangara's sentence required prison officials to expand their waiting area for prisoners sentenced to death and the "death cell" became "Death Row".
Education
There is little evidence regarding Zangara's formal education. He likely received a basic education in Italy, but as an immigrant in the U.S., he struggled to assimilate and build a stable life. This lack of educational opportunities likely contributed to his radical beliefs and actions.
Cermak died of peritonitis 19 days later, on March 6, 1933, two days after Roosevelt's inauguration. Zangara was promptly indicted for first-degree murder in Cermak's death.
Because Zangara had intended to commit murder, the fact that his intended target may not have been the man he ultimately killed was not relevant as he would still be guilty of first-degree murder under the doctrine of transferred intent. There were worries that Zangara's defense would argue that Cermak's death was not a result of his bullet injury.
A theory, raised decades later, questioned whether Cermak's death was caused by medical malpractice on the part of the doctors treating him. It alleged that they failed to realize that the bullet had actually caused direct damage to his colon and precipitated the perforation.
The perforation led to sepsis and his death but Cermak might not have died "but for [the] physicians' blunders". This theory was refuted by a later medical analysis of the event.
