Table of contents for Assassinations in Assassinations

ET TU, BRUTE? ROME 44 BCE After Julius Caesar’s rise to power as the dictator of Rome, he continued to accrue influence and privilege, sculpting the city and its institutions to his will and gaining control over the previously mighty Senate. However, his rule in Rome would be short-lived, as on the Ides of March, he was the victim of the world’s most famous assassination. Due to appear in a session of the Senate, Caesar arrived and was presented by Tillius Cimber with a petition to recall his exiled brother, with other conspirators gathering around to offer support. When Caesar tried to wave away and dismiss the senators, Cimber grabbed Caesar and pulled down his tunic while fellow assassin Servilius Casca produced a dagger and lunged at the dictator. Caesar…

SPENCER PERCEVAL CAUSE OF DEATH GUNSHOT WOUND DATE OF ASSASSINATION 11 MAY 1812 LOCATION LONDON, ENGLAND ASSASSIN JOHN BELLINGHAM DOMESTIC DISORDER With tensions rising, it was feared that rebellion wasn’t far away Perceval had been prime minister from 1809 to 1812 and at the time of his assassination, Britain had been going through a period of political unrest. The Luddite movement, a group of textile workers who feared that the introduction of machinery put their livelihoods at risk, had emerged in northern England, breaking into factories and destroying machines. It did not help that Britain was also at war with France, which intensified economic pressure and led to increased poverty in some areas of the country. This situation worsened thanks to the Orders in Council, a series of restrictions placed…

THE ASSASSINATION OF FRANZ FERDINAND BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 28 JUNE 1914 GERMAN U-BOAT CAMPAIGN ATLANTIC OCEAN, NORTH SEA AND MEDITERRANEAN SEA 28 JULY 1914 - 11 NOVEMBER 1918 The U-boat Campaign was an effort by the German military to destroy the trade routes of the Entente Powers. With the British Empire relying heavily on imports for food and supplies, the German U-boats were commanded to sink all Allied or neutral ships on sight. This led to the sinking of almost 5,000 ships and pushed Prime Minister Lloyd George to order an armed navy convoy for all ships carrying provisions, equipment or weapons to the British Isles. THE ZEPPELIN RAIDS ENGLAND DECEMBER 1914 - AUGUST 1918 Named after its German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the zeppelin was a balloon-like airship with…

FELIX YUSUPOV Coming from an extremely wealthy family – richer than the Romanovs – Felix was the oldest surviving male heir to the huge fortune. Although he was clever and quick-witted, he faced criticism for avoiding service during World War I. As the husband of Alexander Romanov’s niece, Princess Irina of Russia, he disliked the influence that Rasputin held over the family, and became a key player in the plot to bring about his downfall. GRAND DUKE DMITRI PAVLOVICH Dmitri was grandson of Alexander II of Russia and after his primary carer, his uncle, was killed by a revolutionary attack, he went to live with the Romanovs. He was known to be something of a playboy and these actions likely ruined plans for him to marry the eldest Romanov daughter,…

In the spring of 1939, the German Army goose-stepped into the streets of the ancient city of Prague without firing a shot. Hitler had completed his conquest of the neighbouring state and next in his mind was the exploitation of the territory gained and the harnessing of Czech industry for the benefit of the German war machine. Six months before the Führer plunged Europe into war, he divided the former Czechoslovakia into two Reich protectorates, Bohemia-Moravia and the Slovak Republic. To govern Bohemia-Moravia and implement his plan, Hitler installed Baron Konstantin von Neurath. Soon enough, however, von Neurath was judged as ineffective. Despite the fact that about one third of German arms and munitions were produced in Czech factories, productivity in the protectorate was not meeting the Führer’s expectations. The…

RAY HAD RACIST BELIEFS While he was born in Illinois, Ray and his family eventually relocated to Bowling Green, Missouri – a city with a considerable Ku Klux Klan presence. Drawn in by the radical yet influential views of the KKK, Ray reportedly embraced its racist views at a young age – it’s these views, tempered by a life of poverty and crime, that may have driven Ray to kill one of the most prominent African Americans in the country’s history. HE WAS, AND ALWAYS HAD BEEN, A POOR MAN Some believe that one of Ray’s motives for the killing may have been purely financial. He’d been born into poverty and had struggled on the breadline for most of his life. Unable to find success in education, Ray’s youth and…

The assassinations of George Moscone and Harvey Milk in 1978 may have done more to change American opinions on gay rights than any other events. Killed in cold-blood by a crazed and vengeful former colleague, the murders sparked riots across San Francisco, and left a lasting impression on an increasingly liberal city that remains ever-present today. Harvey Milk was born on 22 May 1930 in New York. He graduated from the New York State College for Teachers in 1951, before serving in the Korean War and later becoming a financial analyst. But it would be in 1972 – when he moved to San Francisco and opened a camera shop, Castro Camera – that he really made his mark. The store was situated on San Francisco’s Castro Street, which was a…

Many assassinations are for nefarious or downright evil reasons. But perhaps none is as poignant or terrible as the attempted assassination of a child in 2012. An outspoken proponent for education for girls around the world, the attempt on her life would do nothing to halt her impact on the world; instead, her would-be assassins found they had unleashed a new power for equal rights on the world, a power that has piece by piece torn down their archaic mantra. Malala Yousafzai was born on 12 July 1997 in Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan. Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was a social activist who had established a local school (called the Khushal Girls High School and College) to allow girls to have the same education afforded to boys. Educated at first by…

What do you do when you’re worried about the state of your homeland? When you think it’s being run into the ground by one man with too much power? Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus was in that precarious situation and, in the summer of 45 BCE, he decided what had to be done. After getting his brother-in-law Marcus Brutus to join, things began to gather pace. Their plan? To kill Julius Caesar. There were several reasons for people to dislike Caesar. One of the prevailing factors was that the senators – particularly those in the conservative optimates faction – were becoming increasingly concerned about Caesar turning his family into a ruling dynasty. There were rumours swirling around the city that he was going to govern with Cleopatra as his queen and…

The Dutch national hero was born in Germany as the oldest son of the Count of Nassau, and raised as a Lutheran Protestant. At 12 he had to convert to Catholicism to receive an inheritance from his uncle René of Chalons – including land in the Netherlands and the principality of Orange – thus becoming William of Orange-Nassau, and a prince by blood. At the time William inherited these lands, the Netherlands was a collection of provinces governed by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, but still retained a degree of individual rule with Stadtholders – political leaders who represented provinces and maintained relationships between them. Emperor Charles V summoned the young William to the Netherlands to become a page at the imperial court, which led to a shining military career…

Entering the Presidential Box at Ford’s Theatre, President Abraham Lincoln stood before his chair while Our American Cousin – the play currently showing that he was late for – was halted, the entire audience rose from their seats and the orchestra played Hail To The Chief. Thousands of hands rang out in deafening applause, celebrating the now increasingly evident feats of a man who would go down in history as one of humanity’s greatest-ever leaders. Lincoln and the Union had guided the United States of America through one of the most turbulent periods in its short history – a civil war that had claimed thousands of lives and had left the developing country broken. As the applause died away, Lincoln sat back to enjoy the play, little knowing what danger…

FRANZ FERDINAND FOR HIS KINGDOM Archduke of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia Franz Ferdinand was unpopular among Serbs, who wanted to reclaim land. STRENGTHS A leader of great energy and physical prowess. WEAKNESS Distant and prone to bouts of hysteria. 1911 DOUBLE PHAETON AN EXPENSIVE LUXURY Offering good speed and excellent all-round visibility, the 1911 Double Phaeton was considered a luxury item for the time. STRENGTHS Much more mobile than foot or horse-mounted units. WEAKNESS Poorly armoured and cumbersome in tight spaces. STEYR M1912 PISTOL DURABLE AND POPULAR The Austrian-made semi-automatic pistol offered impressive stopping power at short range and was small enough to be easily concealed. STRENGTHS A reliable pistol carried by Austria-Hungary police and army. WEAKNESS Poor shooting accuracy over long distances.…

For a great deal of time in Russia it was believed that the name Rasputin meant ‘licentious’, and it was this image of the man that became the most prevalent. Rasputin was an accused sexual deviant, a rapist, and ‘Mad Monk’ who played the Russian royals like keys on a piano and whispered dark urges into the tsarina’s ear. Rasputin, however, does not mean licentious at all. Its meaning is closer to, ‘Where two rivers meet’, referring to the place where he was born. Just like his name, the true Rasputin, the man who lived and breathed, has been lost to history and replaced with caricatures; an old man with a long scraggly beard, terrible teeth and even more terrible deeds – but also a doting father, a respected holy…

When they awoke on the morning of Tuesday 16 July 1918, it was just another day in captivity for the Romanovs. The former tsar of Russia, Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov, his wife Alexandra and their five children had spent the last 16 months in captivity. Following the February Revolution, Nicholas II had abdicated in March 1917, bringing to an end over 300 years of Romanov rule over the Russian empire. To begin with, the family was held under arrest at Tsarskoe Selo, enjoying a life of relative luxury. Some say that Nicholas, never a confident or comfortable ruler, had never been happier, revelling in the trappings of rule without the responsibilities. In late April 1918, however, the family were transferred to the bleak Urals and settled in the town of Yekaterinburg.…

JAROSLAV SUSTR A captain in the FCA, Sustr was largely responsible for training the Operation Anthropoid agents in preparation for their mission. He also accompanied them aboard the aircraft that dropped them into the occupied Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia. JOZEF GABCIK A former locksmith from Slovakia, Gabcik was the triggerman in Operation Anthropoid. His cheaply made Sten Gun, nicknamed the ‘Woolworth Gun’, jammed and failed to fire when Gabcik was only a few feet away from Reinhard Heydrich’s Mercedes convertible. JAN KUBIŠ The son of a Moravian peasant family, Kubiš hurled the Type 73 anti-tank grenade that inflicted the mortal wounds on Reinhard Heydrich. A staff sergeant in the FCA, Kubiš fled Czechoslovakia and had fought the Germans in France in the spring of 1940. JOSEF VALCIK Born in Valasske Klobouky,…

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR CAUSE OF DEATH GUNSHOT WOUND DATE OF ASSASSINATION 4 APRIL 1968 LOCATION MEMPHIS, TN, USA ASSASSIN JAMES EARL RAY The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s – a social and political upheaval that changed the United States, and indeed the wider world – has immortalised many of its most famous activists. Some were radicals, urging African Americans to break the shackles of enforced segregation and create a new nation of black supremacy, while others preached a policy of peace, believing only diplomacy and reason could undo the prejudices of old. Martin Luther King Jr, the son of a Baptist minister and one of the figureheads of the Civil Rights Movement throughout the 1950s and 1960s, was one such peaceful individual – but unlike his contemporaries, his…

THE MYSTERIOUS ‘RAOUL’ Ray remained adamant he had been hired by a man named Raoul. He had apparently met him in Canada and travelled with him to Memphis to oversee the hit. The FBI dismissed this claim, but in 1998 a retired FBI agent revealed he had found pieces of paper in Ray’s car referring to such a suspect. LLOYD JOWERS ORDERED THE HIT One theory doesn’t even include Ray as the shooter. It centres on Lloyd Jowers, who ran the Jim’s Grill bar across the road from the Lorraine Motel where King was staying. Jowers, in 1993, claimed Memphis produce dealer Frank Liberto paid him $100,000 to hire a hitman – and it wasn’t Ray. IT WAS A GOVERNMENT HIT According to Ray’s last lawyer, William Pepper, the US…

DATE OF ATTEMPT 30 MARCH 1981 LOCATION WASHINGTON DC, USA PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN 18 years after the assassination of President John F Kennedy, the nation faced losing another leader President Ronald Reagan had been in office for 69 days when he was shot by a deranged college dropout. John Hinkley Jr had been stalking actress Jodie Foster and bizarrely believed that killing the President of the United States would impress her. After delivering a speech at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Reagan and his White House entourage were escorted by Secret Service agents to a limousine. The president smiled and waved to the spectators as the wouldbe assassin fired his gun. A bullet ricocheted off the limousine and struck Reagan in the left lung, about one inch from his heart. Acting…

WHEN IT HAPPENED In 44 BCE Caesar planned a major expedition against Parthia to avenge Crassus, and would be away for several years. Three days before he was due to leave, the assassins struck. It was 15 March – or the Ides, one of the three named days in each Roman month. THE NOBLEST ROMAN Brutus was the son of Caesar’s long-time mistress, Servilia, and her first husband. He was seen as an up-and-coming man in the Senate, although so far he had achieved little. A follower of the stern stoic philosophy, he was determined to the point of obsession. Caesar said: “Whatever Brutus wants, he wants badly.” Brutus insisted that only Caesar be killed, and naively seems to have assumed that a pristine republic would somehow spring back to…

Henry IV was the king of France from 2 August 1589 until he was murdered by a fanatical monk nearly 21 years later. Born on 13 December 1553, Henry was the first ruler from the House of Bourbon, which extended across Europe into Spain, Italy and Luxembourg. But his assassination brought to an end a popular reign that had endeared him to the French public while easing many of the country’s woes. Son to Antoine de Bourbon, Henry’s reign began following conflict between Catholic and Protestant forces. He became king of Navarre, a province of Spain, in 1572 following the death of his mother. He then became heir to the throne of France upon the death of Henry III’s brother in 1584, but this was strongly opposed by the Roman…

As well as Lincoln, Booth and his fellow conspirators also marked Secretary of State William Seward and Vice-President Andrew Johnson for death, with a planned sweep of the three most important men in the country intended to bring the US Union to its knees, allowing the Confederacy to once more gain a foothold. Booth assigned Lewis Powell to take out Seward, while George Atzerodt was tasked to eliminate Johnson. LEWIS POWELL Powell was tasked with killing Seward at his home in Lafayette Park. However, acting as a messenger to gain entry, he was stopped at the top of the dwelling’s staircase by Seward’s son, Assistant Secretary of State Frederick Seward, who was suspicious of his presence. This led Powell to attack the Assistant Secretary before entering Seward’s bedroom and repeatedly…

Nobody paid any attention to the man who walked into the road after the royal carriage had passed – not until he pulled a Winchester rifle from under his coat, dropped to one knee and fired. The bullet hit King Carlos I's neck. Then all hell broke loose. Another gunman started to fire a revolver at the royal carriage as he moved towards it, jumping on the step and shooting at the king at point-blank range. The first attacker hit Carlos I again, this time in the shoulder. Prince Royal Luís Filipe, the heir to the throne, managed to fire four shots from his revolver at the assassin on the carriage step but was hit twice, once in the chest by the attacker on the step, once in the head…

DANILO ILIĆ TEACHER TURNED KILLER The teacher turned assassin Danilo Ilić became radicalised in the early 1900s. On his capture, he admitted everything to try to avoid death. STRENGTHS Well trained in planning covert operations. WEAKNESS No real military experience and tactical flexibility. ASSASSINS LURKING IN THE SHADOWS Some were well-trained by the militaries loyal to the ruler they were trying to kill, others were mere amateurs with personal grudges. STRENGTHS Covert units that easily blend into crowds. WEAKNESS Not heavily armed and rely on shock tactics to be effective. FN 1910 PISTOL ENDURING WEAPON Remaining in production until 1983, the simple design and compact reliability of the FN 1910 made it an enduring firearm. STRENGTHS Compact and can be fired in six-round bursts. WEAKNESS Poor shooting accuracy over long…

Alexandra believed Rasputin cured her son with faith-healing, but it’s one of many explanations THE WRONG DRUGS Aspirin was in use at the time and it is likely it was administered to the heir to help reduce his pain. Rasputin may have rejected the use of this drug, and by doing so he unintentionally helped the boy, as aspirin thins the blood and would have worsened Alexei’s condition. CALMING PRESENCE As a holy man it is not out of the question to assume that Rasputin brought a calm, tranquil air to both Alexandra and her son. This reduced stress may have helped the bleeding to gradually slow and stop. DRUGGING A popular theory at the time was that Rasputin was drugging Alexei with Tibetan herbs. This theory was fuelled by…

Leon Trotsky sat down in his study in Mexico to read an article, and at that moment his killer attacked. Ramón Mercader, an assassin sent by Joseph Stalin using the pseudonym Frank Jackson, struck a blow to his head with an ice pick. Hoping for a silent kill, Trotsky survived the initial blow and fought his attacker, allowing his guards to arrive and arrest Mercader. But a day later, Trotsky passed away from his injuries. In Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, Trotsky had been a major player. He helped direct the Soviets, led by Vladimir Lenin, to seize power in October after the confusion that followed Tsar Nicholas II’s forced abdication in March, and the ineffectual ruling of the Provisional Government thereafter. Lenin installed Trotsky first as foreign commissar in…

FAILED ATTEMPT ADOLF HITLER WEAPON OF ATTACK TIME-FUSED BOMB DATE OF ATTEMPT 20 JULY 1944 LOCATION WOLF’S LAIR, GIERŁOŻ, OCCUPIED POLAND WOULD-BE ASSASSINS CLAUS VON STAUFFENBERG AND CONSPIRATORS It was a hot afternoon in East Prussia, and Erich Fellgiebel, chief of signals for the high command of the German armed forces, was nervously glancing out of his office window. Across the compound, in a wooden barracks, Hitler was holding a military briefing with his generals – news from the war in the east, as usual, was bad. Outside, the unmistakable figure of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg leapt into a car, waving the driver on with his one remaining hand. Suddenly, the hut exploded in an eruption of flame and smoke. The blast echoed around the forest – it was as…

On a cold December night in 1980, at the entrance to the Dakota building on West 72nd Street, a man stood lurking. At the time, the historic apartment block was just another upscale residence for celebrities and the wealthy – including former-Beatle John Lennon. But in an instant the Dakota was transformed into a site of enduring infamy. It was common knowledge the musician was open to fans approaching him. Autograph hunters would congregate outside the Dakota, hoping to catch a glimpse of the star. He was kind enough to often sign autographs and pose for photos. Yet Lennon’s good-natured openness and the lack of security – because why would anybody want to harm him? – allowed a killer right into his midst. Mark David Chapman was a die-hard Beatles…

As he lay critically ill in an intensive care unit at University College Hospital in central London, the defiant words of Alexander Litvinenko were as caustic against those he felt were behind his poisoning as the chemicals ravaging his body: “You may succeed in silencing me but that silence comes at a price. You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics have claimed. You have shown yourself to have no respect of life, liberty or any civilised value. You have shown yourself unworthy of your office, to be unworthy of the trust of civilised men and women. You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears for the rest…