The history of Milwaukee's Samson the gorilla

Most will agree that a trip (or two or several) to the Milwaukee County Zoo is necessary if you want to call yourself a true Milwaukeean.

And many Milwaukee children (or grownups waxing nostalgic about their childhoods) will agree that a trip to the zoo is not complete without a ride on the train and a Mold-a-Rama souvenir of their favorite animal. This is universal.

Less universal is choosing your favorite zoo animal. Milwaukee has had some famous ones over the years, from Gordy the groundhog to Chandar the Bengal tiger to Onassis the geriatric Giant South American River turtle.

Perhaps the most famous is an animal that members of the millennial generation and afterward never even met. But he lives in the memories of middle-age and older Milwaukeeans.

According to the Milwaukee Public Library, Samson the gorilla arrived as a baby in Milwaukee in 1950 (back when the zoo was located in Washington Park). He moved to the zoo’s current location in 1959, and would for years grab the attention of delighted, fascinated and (sometimes) terrified zoo visitors when he pounded on the glass of his enclosure.

Samson died of a heart attack in 1981, but Milwaukeeans can pay homage to him with a visit to the Milwaukee Public Museum, where there is a lifelike re-creation of the famous gorilla.

See the rest of Milwaukee's 100 objects

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The history of Milwaukee's Samson the gorilla