Infamous Assassinations in History
There have been four sitting presidential assassinations in history, including James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy, but the killing of Abraham Lincoln was the first. What did John Wilkes Booth say after shooting President Lincoln?
- One of the most famous Latin phrases of history, this line translates as "thus always to tyrants"— it is also what Senator Brutus said after stabbing the ancient Roman general and ruler, Caesar.
In 1968, this social activist was killed by an ex-con named James Earl Ray who shot him on the balcony of his rented accommodation. What was the victim's name?
- Sadly, the man who pioneered a variety of civil movements with his "I Have a Dream" speech, Martin Luther King, was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
This assassination of a political figure famously started one of the world wars— who was it?
- During his visit to Sarajevo, the Archduke was shot and killed by a Serb nationalist named Gavrilo Princip, putting in motion the wheels that would begin World War I.
Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi was a world-renowned pacifist and leader of the Indian nationalist movement that opposed British rule in India. Do you know the name of the man who killed him?
- Godse was under the impression that Gandhi was more on the side of the Muslims than the Hindus in India, which led him into a fanatical frenzy where he shot the leader at point-blank range.
Though many conspiracy theories surround the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy, who is generally regarded as the killer and charged for the crime?
- While Oswald protested that he was framed, he himself was assassinated by Jack Ruby in retaliation for the president's death. Other theories claim JFK's driver was the killer, that the CIA ordered a hit, or that Fidel Castro orchestrated JFK's death.
Assassinations that changed the course of history are not relegated to modern times. Who was a figure of the ancient world that was killed during the height of his political power?
- On March 15, 44 BC, also called the Ides of March, Caesar was assassinated by members of his own Roman Senate who stabbed him dozens of times right in the middle of Rome's Curia of Pompey.
What was the name of this Archbishop of Canterbury, who was assassinated by four English knights in the 1170s, after the king called for his death by reportedly saying, "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?"
- In one of the most influential assassinations of the Middle Ages, Becket was killed for his association with the Catholic Church during a time when the English throne was campaigning for softening the Papal grip on local religion.
Who was the singer and songwriter whose sudden death outside of a New York apartment building rocked the nation and sent shockwaves around the world?
- After his death, a nearby portion of Central Park was renamed to Strawberry Fields in Lenon's honor, referencing the Beatles' song that he penned called "Strawberry Fields Forever".
Who was the Eastern European leader whose assassination was carried out by political dissidents in Russia during 1881?
- Many leaders of Russia have been removed by assassination, and though Tsar Alexander II had survived many previous attempts on his life, he was finally killed by a bomb made of nitroglycerin and pyroxylin in Saint Petersburg.
What was the name of this African American minister who was both Muslim and a prominent figure in the human rights movement, assassinated in New York City's Audubon Ballroom?
- Malcolm X was a popular and important leader of civil rights and equality for the Black community, but his life was cut short when he was publicly gunned down in front of his wife and daughters by three religious radicals in 1965.
