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Abraham Lincoln to John F Kennedy: List of US Presidents who were targeted or assassinated EXPLORED amid Donald Trump rally shooting incident
The greatest Abraham Lincoln to the 35th US President John F Kennedy, the US Presidents who have been targeted or assassinated are in the spotlight again after US ex-president Donald Trump rally shooting incident. Deets Inside.
Trigger Warning: This article contains gruesome details of murder and violence, which could be triggering for some readers.
Assassination of a US president is not new. Over the years, we have witnessed many changes in US political history. Recently, an attempted assassination of Donald Trump during his rally in Pennsylvania highlighted the ongoing issue of political violence against US presidents, former presidents, and major party candidates.
Here's a look at some assassinations and attempts since the nation's founding in 1776:
1. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, the 16th US President
Lincoln was the first president assassinated, shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, at Ford's Theatre. After being shot in the head, he was taken to a nearby house and died the next morning. His support for Black rights was a motive.
During the Civil War, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves in the Confederacy. He was succeeded by Vice President Andrew Johnson. Booth was killed on April 26, 1865, after being found in a barn near Bowling Green, Virginia.
2. AMES GARFIELD, the 20th US President
Garfield, the second president assassinated, was shot by Charles Guiteau at a Washington train station on July 2, 1881, six months into his presidency. Despite Alexander Graham Bell's attempt to locate the bullet with a specially designed device, Garfield died in September after weeks of suffering. He was succeeded by Vice President Chester Arthur. Guiteau was convicted and executed in June 1882.
3. WILLIAM McKINLEY, the US 25th President
McKinley was shot in Buffalo, New York, on Sept. 6, 1901, after giving a speech. He was shaking hands when a man fired two shots at close range, leading to gangrene around the wounds. McKinley died on Sept. 14, 1901, during his second term, and Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him. The shooter, Leon F. Czolgosz, admitted to the crime, was found guilty, and executed in the electric chair on Oct. 29, 1901.
4. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, the 32nd US President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president, narrowly escaped injury during a February 1933 shooting in Miami. Roosevelt had just given a speech from an open car when gunshots were fired, killing Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak. Guiseppe Zangara was convicted and sentenced to death for the shooting.
5. HARRY S. TRUMAN, the 33rd US President
Truman faced a break-in at Blair House in November 1950 near the White House. Two gunmen attacked, resulting in the death of a White House policeman and one assailant, with two other policemen injured. Oscar Collazo, arrested and initially sentenced to death, had his sentence commuted to life in prison by Truman in 1952. He was later released by President Jimmy Carter in 1979.
6. JOHN F KENNEDY, the 35th US President
Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in November 1963 by a hidden gunman during a motorcade with Jacqueline Kennedy. He died shortly after at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in on Air Force One, becoming the only president inaugurated aboard an airplane.
Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested hours later for the shooting from a nearby building. Two days later, Oswald was fatally shot by Jack Ruby during a transfer to the county jail.
7. GERALD FORD, the 38th US president
Ford survived two assassination attempts in 1975 unscathed. In Sacramento, Lynette Squeaky Fromme pointed a pistol at him but didn't fire. Fromme was later imprisoned and released in 2009. Seventeen days later, in San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore fired a shot at Ford outside a hotel but missed. She was stopped before she could shoot again. However, Moore was soon sent to prison but released in 2007.
8. RONALD REAGAN, the 40th US President
Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. while leaving a speech in Washington, D.C., in March 1981. Reagan recovered, but three others, including his press secretary James Brady, were also shot. Brady was left partially paralyzed.
Hinckley was found not guilty because of insanity and confined to a mental hospital. In 2022, he was released from court oversight after being deemed no longer a threat.
9. GEORGE W. BUSH, the 43rd US president
In 2005, at a rally in Tbilisi with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, a hand grenade was thrown towards Bush. It landed 100 feet away, wrapped in cloth, but did not explode. Vladimir Arutyunian was later sentenced to life in prison for the incident.
