Robert Stroud, the infamous "Birdman of Alcatraz," passed away on November 21, 1963 at the age of 73. Born January 28, 1890 in Seattle, Washington, Stroud served in the U.S. Army as a young man and was later sentenced to prison for murder. During his incarceration, which spanned 35 years, Stroud became well known for his lifelong hobby of ornithology and for inventing an antibiotic ointment for injured birds. Though he was never allowed to keep live birds in prison, he used what he could to study and care for his feathered friends. He also authored a five-volume work on the subject, "Diseases of Canaries," which was published in 1909. In 1942 Stroud was transferred to the prison on Alcatraz Island, where he became a model inmate and eventually gained the privilege of working in the prison library. Though Stroud's contributions to ornithology and wildlife conservation were often overshadowed by his own notoriety as an inmate, he never stopped advocating for the welfare of birds. At his passing, Stroud's legacy as a bird-lover still lives on.