Alcatraz was the name given to the island occupied by one of the world's most famous prisons. Situated in the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz is one of the three islands discovered by Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala, in 1775. It is unclear if Ayala named the current Yerba Buena Island La Isla de los Alcatraces, the name later being transferred to what is now known as Alcatraz, or if the name was indeed given to the current Alcatraz Island. The word Alcatraces means "pelicans" in Spanish. In 1851, the name was officially shortened to Alcatraz, which means "pelican" in Spanish.

Prior to its use as a prison, the island was used as a military site. In the 1850s it began housing military prisoners. This continued until 1933 when it was turned over to the US Department of Justice. Alcatraz was opened as a maximum security prison. It was designed for the most dangerous criminals and repeat offenders.

Many films have been made using Alcatraz as its subject. Most of these films have created a view of the prison that was not actually in keeping with the reality of prison life. Alcatraz had a capacity to hold 336 prisoners but was at no time filled to that capacity. Many of the prisoners claimed that the conditions in the prison were far superior to other prisons.

One of the myths surrounding Alcatraz was that it was inescapable. Although the waters surrounding the island are extremely cold and full of strong currents, there are no man-eating sharks as usually portrayed in the films. In recent years two 10 year old children actually swam to the island to prove that it could be done. But, as with every prison, there were escape attempts. In total 36 men attempted 14 separate escapes. Twenty-three of these men were caught, two men were drowned and six men were shot and killed during their escape attempts. There are still five prisoners who escaped who are listed as "Missing Presumed Drowned."

One of the most famous films made of Alcatraz's history was The Birdman of Alcatraz. The film starred Burt Lancaster as real life prisoner Robert Stroud. Once again Hollywood took liberties with the actual story. In real life Stroud did breed and study sparrows and canaries, writing two books about canaries and their diseases. However, some of the birdcages and equipment in his cell were eventually discovered to be part of a still for brewing alcohol.

In its time, Alcatraz did house a few other well-known prisoners. These included Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly and Arthur "Doc" Barker. But the amount of famous or infamous inmates was a very small percentage of the 1,576 prisoners who were housed in the prison over the years. The vast majority of inmates were not famous criminals.

Alcatraz was eventually shut down and abandoned in 1963, the main reason being that it was simply too expensive to run compared to other prisons. It has had a colorful history since its closure. At one point Native American Indians claimed it as rightfully theirs and had a strong group of supporters. Unfortunately vandalism and a fire on the island put paid to this idea and the remaining Indians were moved out in 1971. Alcatraz Island and the prison grounds are now a major tourist attraction with over a million visitors arriving to the island each year.