President William McKinley acquired the nickname Wobbly Willie due to his alleged indecisiveness. History remembers him as staunchly pro-business imperialist, who oversaw the acquisition of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
In 1901, a mentally unstable man named Leon Czolgosz bought a gun from a Sears & Roebuck catalog. He bragged to his anarchist friends that he was going to shoot a priest, just to make a point. His friends told him not to bother, since there were so many priests running around, no one would notice. So, he shot McKinley, instead.
Over the next century, McKinley’s wife, Ida, would be featured in crossword puzzles everywhere.