44 BCE: Assassination of Julius Caesar by Brutus
Poor Brutus, remembered in history as the epitome of treachery and an ungrateful parricide! In 44 BCE, this staunch republican, son of Julius Caesar’s favorite mistress, feared that his former mentor was on the verge of having himself crowned king. Already acclaimed for his military victories, the conqueror of Gaul, aged 55, had managed to secure the title of dictator for life—despite this position traditionally being temporary.
Brutus and around sixty senators were determined to put an end to his unstoppable rise. They conspired to strike on March 15, 44 BCE, during a Senate session. That day, Caesar fell under 23 knife wounds, only one of which was fatal. Alas! Instead of restoring the Republic, his death paved the way for the ambitions of his designated heir, Octavian (Augustus), who would become Emperor Augustus in 27 BCE.
1610: Assassination of Henry IV by François Ravaillac
While the king was traveling by carriage to visit his minister Sully, François Ravaillac managed to deliver three fatal knife wounds on Rue de la Ferronnerie.
1793: Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat by Charlotte Corday
Arriving in Paris in July 1793, Charlotte Corday (one of the few women, alongside 19th-century Russian revolutionaries, to belong to the club of political assassins) was determined to put an end to Marat’s murderous frenzy. However, the death of the “Friend of the People (L’Ami du peuple)” only triggered the Reign of Terror and accelerated the downfall of the Girondin deputies she had hoped to save.
1865: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth
On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, fresh from his victory in the Civil War, was shot in his box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth. This actor was outraged that Lincoln had granted voting rights to Black Americans.
1881: Assassination of Tsar Alexander II by the People’s Will Group
The day before his assassination, Alexander II had finalized plans to introduce a representative assembly in Russia—a groundbreaking step for the autocratic nation. When he ascended the throne in 1855, the tsar sought to bring Russia out of darkness. He liberalized the economy, reined in the secret police, abolished serfdom, and more. Russia was changing—too fast for the nobility, yet too slowly for others. Taking advantage of this loosening grip, revolutionaries multiplied assassination attempts.
It was the People’s Will (Narodnaya Volya) group that finally succeeded. On March 13, 1881, in Saint Petersburg, a bomb damaged the tsar’s carriage. As he stepped out to check on the victims, a second bomb exploded, mutilating him horrifically. He died soon after. His son, Alexander III, reverted to aggressive conservatism—a perfect breeding ground for Bolshevism.
1894: Assassination of Sadi Carnot by Sante Geronimo Caserio
On June 24, 1894, Sadi Carnot, then President of the French Republic, was assassinated in Lyon. This event occurred just months before the end of his term and followed the passage of the first two lois scélérates (or “villainous laws”), which targeted anarchist movements in France. His assassination marked a turning point in French anarchist history. In response, the Chamber of Deputies passed the final and most restrictive loi scélérate, banning all forms of anarchist propaganda in France.
1901: Assassination of William McKinley by Leon Czolgosz
On September 6, 1901, William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, was shot in the stomach by an anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, while visiting an exposition in Buffalo. He succumbed to his wounds on September 14.
1914: Assassination of Jean Jaurès by Raoul Villain
Jean Jaurès, a French deputy from the Tarn and a socialist political leader, was assassinated on Friday, July 31, 1914, while dining at the Café du Croissant on Rue Montmartre. Occurring just three days before France entered World War I, his murder contributed to the acceleration of the conflict that engulfed Europe.
1914: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Gavrilo Princip
When the mayor of Sarajevo welcomed Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, no one in Europe could have imagined they were hours away from catastrophe. Who could have predicted that this visit by the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, aimed at easing separatist tensions in the empire’s southern territories, would ignite a global war?
Seven militants linked to the Black Hand, a group advocating for the annexation of the Bosnian-Serb territories into the Kingdom of Serbia, planned to assassinate the archduke. Never mind that Franz Ferdinand supported federal autonomy within the empire—he was still a target. The assassination attempt initially failed: one conspirator lost his nerve, and another threw a grenade that missed its mark. However, fate intervened. The archduke’s car, rerouted after the botched attack, stalled in front of a café where one of the conspirators, Gavrilo Princip, had taken refuge. He seized the opportunity, fatally shooting the archduke and his wife.
Following their arrest, one of the plotters revealed that the weapons had been supplied by Serbia. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, prompting Russia to come to Belgrade’s aid. The fatal chain reaction of alliances had begun.
1961: Assassination of Patrice Lumumba
When the Republic of the Congo gained independence in 1960, it found its national hero in Patrice Lumumba. Brilliant, charismatic, and self-taught, he had founded the Mouvement National Congolais two years earlier, winning popular support. However, his radical stance alarmed Belgian authorities, who imprisoned him—a move that only hastened decolonization. Victorious in the elections, Lumumba was appointed Prime Minister. But his growing ties with Moscow would seal his fate.
In September 1960, a CIA-backed coup brought Army Chief of Staff Joseph-Désiré Mobutu to power. Lumumba attempted to flee but was captured days later. He was handed over to Katangan separatists, who had Western support, and was executed by firing squad on January 17, 1961. His body was then dismembered and dissolved in acid. It was not until 2002 that Belgium formally acknowledged its responsibility in his assassination.
1963: Assassination of John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald
The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, remains one of the most significant events in 20th-century American history. On November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, Kennedy was fatally shot while riding in an open-top motorcade with his wife, Jacqueline. Lee Harvey Oswald was accused of being the lone gunman, but he was killed before standing trial.
Kennedy’s assassination sparked numerous conspiracy theories, investigations, and ongoing debates. Its profound impact shaped American society, influencing the political and cultural climate of the era.
1968: Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. by James Earl Ray
On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis by James Earl Ray, a white supremacist. King’s family believed that Ray was merely a pawn in a broader conspiracy orchestrated by the CIA, with the alleged approval of President Lyndon B. Johnson.
1948: Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by Nathuram Godse
When India gained independence in 1947, it remained a diverse nation, home to Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs. Gandhi envisioned a united India and strongly opposed the partition that led to the creation of Pakistan. His outreach to the Muslim community, including his support for Pakistan’s financial rights, was seen as a betrayal by Hindu nationalists.
On January 30, 1948, in Delhi, Nathuram Godse, a radical Hindu nationalist, shot Gandhi at point-blank range as he was about to lead a public prayer.
1984: Assassination of Indira Gandhi by Satwant Singh and Beant Singh
Thirty-six years later, in 1984, history repeated itself when Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (unrelated to Mahatma Gandhi) was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh. The attack was in retaliation for Operation Blue Star, the military assault on the Golden Temple, a sacred Sikh site that had been occupied by separatists. She was shot 30 times with a submachine gun.
Her son, Rajiv Gandhi, succeeded her as Prime Minister until 1989. However, two years later, while campaigning for re-election, he was killed in a suicide bombing by a Sri Lankan Tamil militant from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
1994: Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana
On April 6, 1994, at around 8:30 p.m., the plane carrying Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana, in power since 1973, was shot down by a missile as it prepared to land in Kigali. He was killed alongside Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira, seven of their entourage, and three French crew members.
Habyarimana had just returned from peace talks in Tanzania aimed at integrating the Tutsi minority into Rwanda’s institutions. Though he was a Hutu, extremist factions within his own group viewed him as a traitor. Some believe these radical Hutus orchestrated the attack, while others suspect the Front Patriotique Rwandais (FPR), the Tutsi-led rebel group commanded by Paul Kagame, the current leader of Rwanda.
Regardless of the perpetrators, the assassination shattered all peace efforts. The Rwandan Civil War reignited, triggering one of the worst genocides in history. Between April 7 and July 17, 1994, nearly one million people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered in an unprecedented wave of ethnic violence.