Today I Learned: A Collection of Facts We Didn’t Know We Needed to Know

It’s always interesting to look back at history and think, “What if?” That’s the case for many US history buffs when it comes to the attempted assassination of President William McKinley. The President was shot at the Pan-American Exposition in 1901 and died from a post-surgery infection a few days later.

All of this could have been different if surgeon Roswell Park had been there to operate on the President. The story goes that Dr. Park was the best surgeon in the city. However, he was in the middle of another operation when they called for his help. He didn’t abandon his patient, even when faced with saving the President of the United States. Another doctor performed the surgery, which inadvertently led to McKinley’s untimely death.