14 Famous Assassinations | 14 Biggest Assassinations In History
Leaders will always have rebels. some oppose his views while the rest oppose his actions. It’s never easy being a leader, especially when you’re in the spotlight and judged for every step you take. the same thing happened with these leaders. they may have made mistakes or so it seemed to those who stepped forward to correct the mistakes in their own way. a death penalty that was not decided by god or the law, but simply by those who were against him.
here are 14 murders that greatly changed the course of history:
1. john f. kennedy
possibly one of the most famous murders in history. The 35th President of the United States was assassinated while traveling in a motorcade on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the crime, but he denied the charges saying he was being framed.
2. Lee Harvey Oswald: The man who shot JFK
jfk died on november 22, 1963. oswald claimed that he was merely a scapegoat in the entire conspiracy that led to kennedy’s assassination. But Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby before he could stand trial on November 24. who knows what truth would have come out. Ruby said that he was angry about JFK’s death and stated that his motive was to “save Mrs. Kennedy the trouble of going back to trial.” that many believed to be a lie. and jfk’s death mystery may have died with lee harvey oswald.
3. MK Gandhi
It was ironic how a man who preached non-violence all his life was murdered. On January 30, 1948, he was shot by a Hindu nationalist, Nathuram Godse. Before his death, Gandhi had said: “If I were shot in the chest and died with the words Hey Ram on my lips, only then would I be a true Mahatma.”
4. Indira Gandhi
part of the nehru-gandhi dynasty, pm indira gandhi was shot by two of her own bodyguards, satwant singh and beant singh, on the morning of october 31, 1984. she was shot a total of 33 times in retaliation against the blue star operation that had left the golden temple seriously damaged.
5. Rajiv Gandhi
former prime minister, rajiv gandhi, was in sriperumbudur, tamil nadu, on may 21, 1991. his killer, dhanu, a petty suicide bomber, leaned over to touch his feet and pulled the trigger on his rdx-loaded belt that she was wearing under her dress. Gandhi, along with 14 others, was assassinated. he was the first politician killed by a bomb blast.
6. Franz Ferdinand: The death that triggered the World War
archduke franz ferdinand of austria was visiting sarajevo in bosnia. On June 28, 1914, 19-year-old Gavrilo Principe shot Franz Ferdinand and even his wife, Sophie. Franz’s death caused the start of what became known as the First World War.
7. Abraham Lincoln
abraham lincoln was one of the most beloved presidents of the united states. Lincoln was watching a play at Ford’s Theater in Washington DC on April 14, 1865. Lincoln sat there without a bodyguard. John Wilkes Booth sneaked up behind him and shot him in the head at close range. He was on Good Friday and the man who helped America overcome civil war and slavery died instantly.
8. Yitzhak Rabin: The one who tried to resolve the ‘Israel-Palestine’ conflict
the israeli prime minister had signed the oslo accords aimed at resolving the palestinian-israeli problems. a right-wing radical named yigal amir got angry and assassinated the pm on november 4, 1995.
9. Julius Caesar
his last words were, “et tu, brute?” (“Even you brutus?”), when his close friend marcus brutus assassinated the leader along with the help of other senators. the emperor was attacked and stabbed on March 15, 44 BC
10. Malcolm X
The American Muslim and human rights activist told an interviewer on February 19, 1965 that he was a target of the Nation of Islam, a group he had denounced a year earlier. Two days later, he was shot 21 times in the body after taking 10 shotgun blasts at the Audubon Ballroom.
11. Benazir Bhutto
after 9 years in exile, the then president of pakistan, pervez musharraf, finally granted him amnesty in 2007. he wanted to participate in the 2008 elections. two weeks before the elections, on december 27, 2007, he was he fired while waving to supporters through the sunroof of his car. an explosive also went off, killing him shortly after and killing 20 others. however, his party won the election.
12. Robert F Kennedy: The younger Kennedy
was campaigning for the presidency in 1968. he won the california presidential primary and just after midnight on June 5, he was shot by a young palestinian man named sirhan sirhan. he was shot three times and 5 others were wounded. his last words were “is everyone safe, okay?” he died in hospital the next day.
13. Alexander Litvinenko
an agent of the russian secret service fsb, was arrested for exceeding the authority of his position. Once acquitted, he found asylum in England and possibly worked as an MI6 agent. On November 1, 2006, he suddenly fell ill after a meal. he was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210 and died on November 23. he is the first known victim of this lethal dose. his wife believes that the order to kill him came from moscow.
14. Martin Luther King Jr
the winner of the nobel peace prize was shot on april 4, 1968 by james earl ray. MLK was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. he was only 39 years old. ironic how a peace loving person met such a sad and early end.
