Although U.S. prisons sprouted up before the United States were even formed, it wasn't until 1851 that prisoners were given official inmate numbers. And the first gentleman to receive such a number — 00001 — was a 22-year-old cabinet-maker from Sacramento, California.
Charles Currier became California's first official state prisoner after he was convicted of grand larceny for stealing a horse. But since no official state prison had yet been built, Currier was checked into La Grange, a Sacramento County jail ship (which happened to sink 11 years later, long after he'd left), before transferring to another jail ship called the Waban, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. And according to YouTube's Wisdom N Stuff, the conditions on the ship "were horrific."
Currier then spent the next two years as a shipbound prisoner who left the boat every day — along with around 39 other incarcerated shipmates — helping to build San Quentin State Prison under a forced "prisoner lease" program. It's unclear what ever became of Currier after his two-year stint on the floating slammers, but he will always be remembered as #00001.
Previously: Who got social security number 001-01-0001?