Notorious Assassinations

Abraham LincolnHailed as the greatest American President by many, Lincoln was shot in the back of the head at the Ford Theater by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865.(Photo by Alexander Gardner/Getty Images)

Anwar SadatThe third Egyptian President was killed on October 6, 1981. A Jihadist military cell attacked Sadat with grenades and assault rifles during a military parade.Photo credit: AP

Benazir BhuttoBhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, was attacked on Dec. 27, 2007 with guns and explosives during a campaign rally. Al-Qaeda claimed credit for the attack.Photo credit: AP

Franz FerdinandArchduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was killed on June 28, 1914. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war against Serbia, which caused Germany and Austria-Hungary, and countries allied with Serbia to declare war on each other, beginning World War I. (Source: Library of Congress)Source: Library of Congress)

Indira GandhiThe prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her death in 1984. She’s the only female prime minister in the history of India. She was shot between 16 and 19 times by two assassins who were her bodyguards.Photo credit: AP

John F KennedyDuring a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, Kennedy was shot to death on Nov. 22, 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald. Conspiracy theories surrounding his death continue to this day.Photo credit: AP

John LennonSinger-songwriter and political activist John Lennon is seen Dec. 8, 1980 in New York City, the day Lennon was shot in front of his apartment house at the Dakota on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.Photo credit: AP

Lee Harvey OswaldThe gunman who took down John F. Kennedy in 1963 was himself cut down on live television by Dallas bar owner Jack Ruby. While the Warren Commission concluded Oswald was the lone gunman of Kennedy, the truth of the shooting died with Oswald.Photo credit: AP

Mahatma GandhiMahatma Gandhi, the pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement, was shot on Jan. 30, 1948.Photo credit: AP

Malcolm XThe African-American Muslim minister and political activist was shot 17 times on Feb. 21, 1965 while giving a speech at Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom.Photo credit: AP

William McKinleyThe 25th U.S. President was at a meet-and-greet at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo when he was shot while trying to shake the hand of young anarchist Leon Czolgosz. McKinley died 8 days later.Photo credit: AP

Martin Luther King, Jr.Nobel Peace Prize winner and Civil Rights pioneer, Dr. King was shot on April 4, 1968 on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Shooter James Earl Ray was caught two months later.Photo credit: AP

Grigori RasputinA Russian mystic who is believed to have heavily influenced the final days of Russian Czar, Nicholas II. He was rumored to have had an affair with Nicholas’ wife Alexandra. He was poisoned with cyanide, but didn’t die. He was then shot with a revolver but still wasn’t dead. He was shot three more times and was still alive when his body was wrapped in a carpet and dumped in a river. He drowned while trying to escape from the carpet.Photo credit: AP

Robert F. KennedySen. Robert F. Kennedy addresses a throng of supporters in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles early in the morning of June 5, 1968, following his victory in the previous day’s California primary election. A moment later he turned into a hotel kitchen corridor and was mortally wounded.Photo credit: AP

Leon TrotskyTrotsky was one of the leaders of the Russian October Revolution, second only to Vladimir Lenin. On 20 August 1940, Trotsky was attacked in his home in Mexico with an ice axe by undercover NKVD agent Ramón Mercader. (Source: Bundesarchiv)(Source: Bundesarchiv)

Yitzhak RabinThe Nobel Peace Prize winner and twice-elected Prime Minister of Israel was assassinated on Nov. 4, 1995 following a peace rally in Tel Aviv.Photo credit: AP