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Assassinations

Killings of presidents, candidates, and public figures — and the political shocks their deaths sent through the country.

Assassination of James Garfield
The 1881 shooting that ended a presidency and broke the spoils system
Assassination of JFK
The Murder of a President, Dallas, November 22, 1963
Assassination of Lincoln
The murder of Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, April 1865
Assassination of Malcolm X
The 1965 killing of a defining voice of Black radicalism
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
The 1968 killing that convulsed the nation and the movement
Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
The 1968 murder that silenced a generation's hope
Assassination of William McKinley
The 1901 murder that handed the presidency to Theodore Roosevelt
Reagan Assassination Attempt
The 1981 shooting that nearly killed a president and reshaped gun law
Trump Assassination Attempt (2024)
The July 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania shooting during the presidential campaign