"I'm glad it was me instead of you."

March 6, 1933 - Today was the day that Mayor Anton Cermak died from a bullet that was aimed at Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The shooting occurred 19 days earlier at an impromptu rally in Miami.

Cermak was the mayor of Chicago and Roosevelt was the president-elect. As Cermak reached out to shake Roosevelt's hand, an Italian immigrant named Giuseppe Zangara stood up on a chair and pointed a gun at Roosevelt. A woman named Lilian Cross saw the weapon and smacked Zangara with her purse. Zangara was able to fire off at least 5 shots but all of them missed Roosevelt. Cermak and 4 others were hit.

Cermak was shot in the lung, and he was quickly loaded into Roosevelt's car for a trip to the hospital. Cradled in Roosevelt's arms, he reportedly told the president-elect, "I'm glad it was me instead of you."

Mortally wounded, Cermak held on for over 2 painful weeks. As soon as he died, a judge sentenced Zangara to death in Florida's infamous electric chair, Old Sparky. Zangara's final statement was "Viva Italia! Goodbye to all poor peoples everywhere! Push the button!"