These Bertillon measurements of William “Big Bill” Haywood come from his inmate case file from Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. The Bertillon system of criminal identification was an anthropometric identification system that was later supplanted by fingerprinting.
Haywood was convicted of obstruction of military service and sedition under the Espionage Act of 1917 and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. He was the leader of the Western Federation of Miners and a founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), commonly referred to as the “Wobblies.” He assembled unionists, and intimidated company bosses for improved labor conditions.
Also included in Haywood’s inmate file are his “mug shot”; “record sheet”; “rap” sheet of arrests, convictions, and incarceration; commitment order; fingerprints; record of items received; and other documents. See the entire file in the National Archives online catalog.
