Assassinations that shook the world and changed history

The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally on July 13, 2024, is a stark reminder of the ongoing threat of political violence. This incident adds to the long history of attacks on presidents and political leaders in the United States and globally.

In the US, the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, President James Garfield in 1881, and President William McKinley in 1901 led to the establishment of the Secret Service to protect presidents.

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 further heightened security measures. More recent attempts include those on President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and President Gerald Ford in 1975, both of which were foiled by the Secret Service.

The assassination of JFK was a pivotal moment that altered the trajectory of history. Kennedy’s death at the hands of Lee Harvey Oswald led to a period of national mourning and uncertainty in the US, and some argue it derailed the civil rights movement and the country’s involvement in the Vietnam War.
However, political violence is not unique to the US.
Historically, political violence has affected leaders worldwide. For instance, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is thought to have been the trigger that started World War 1 — a devastating global conflict that reshaped the political and social landscape of Europe and the world, leading to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian, German, Russian, and Ottoman empires.
Here is a list of 200 world leaders that were either assassinated or survived an assassination bid:
Ancient World (Before 500 CE)
1. Sennacherib (681 BCE, Assyria) – Killed by his sons
2. Xerxes I (465 BCE, Persia) – Assassinated by Artabanus
3. Philip II of Macedon (336 BCE, Macedonia) – Killed by Pausanias of Orestis
4. Alexander the Great (323 BCE, Babylon) – Possibly poisoned

5. Ptolemy I Soter (305 BCE, Egypt) – Survived multiple attempts
6. Seleucus I Nicator (281 BCE, Thrace) – Assassinated by Ptolemy Keraunos
7. Antiochus III the Great (187 BCE, Persia) – Killed while plundering a temple
8. Julius Caesar (44 BCE, Roman Republic) – Stabbed by senators

9. Caligula (41 CE, Roman Empire) – Stabbed by Praetorian Guard
10. Claudius (54 CE, Roman Empire) – Possibly poisoned
11. Galba (69 CE, Roman Empire) – Killed by Praetorian Guard
12. Vitellius (69 CE, Roman Empire) – Executed by Vespasian’s forces
13. Domitian (96 CE, Roman Empire) – Stabbed by court officials
14. Commodus (192 CE, Roman Empire) – Strangled in his bath
15. Pertinax (193 CE, Roman Empire) – Killed by Praetorian Guard
16. Caracalla (217 CE, Roman Empire) – Stabbed while urinating

17. Elagabalus (222 CE, Roman Empire) – Killed by Praetorian Guard
18. Aurelian (275 CE, Roman Empire) – Assassinated by his officers
19. Probus (282 CE, Roman Empire) – Killed by his own troops
20. Carus (283 CE, Roman Empire) – Possibly struck by lightning
21. Carinus (285 CE, Roman Empire) – Killed by his own troops
22. Constans (350 CE, Roman Empire) – Assassinated by Magnentius’ supporters

23. Julian (363 CE, Roman Empire) – Died in battle, possibly by friendly fire
24. Valentinian II (392 CE, Western Roman Empire) – Possibly murdered by Arbogast
Early Middle Ages (500-1000 CE)
25. Theodahad (536, Ostrogothic Kingdom) – Killed by his own men

26. Maurice (602, Byzantine Empire) – Executed by Phocas
27. Phocas (610, Byzantine Empire) – Overthrown and executed by Heraclius
28. Constans II (668, Byzantine Empire) – Assassinated in his bath
29. Justinian II (711, Byzantine Empire) – Executed after overthrow
30. Leo III the Isaurian (741, Byzantine Empire) – Survived multiple attempts
31. Constantine VI (797, Byzantine Empire) – Blinded and possibly killed by his mother
32. Nikephoros I (811, Byzantine Empire) – Killed in battle against Bulgars
33. Leo V the Armenian (820, Byzantine Empire) – Murdered in church

34. Michael III (867, Byzantine Empire) – Assassinated by Basil I

35. Al-Mutawakkil (861, Abbasid Caliphate) – Assassinated by Turkish guards
36. Al-Musta’in (866, Abbasid Caliphate) – Executed after abdication
37. Al-Mu’tazz (869, Abbasid Caliphate) – Deposed and killed
38. Al-Muhtadi (870, Abbasid Caliphate) – Killed by Turkish troops
39. Al-Mu’tamid (892, Abbasid Caliphate) – Possibly poisoned
40. Edward the Martyr (978, England) – Stabbed at Corfe Castle
41. Basil II (976, Byzantine Empire) – Survived rebellion by Bardas Skleros
High Middle Ages (1000-1300 CE)
42. Brian Boru (1014, Ireland) – Killed in his tent after battle
43. Malcolm II of Scotland (1034) – Assassinated at Glamis
44. Duncan I of Scotland (1040) – Killed by Macbeth

45. Edward the Confessor (1066, England) – Possibly poisoned
46. Harold Godwinson (1066, England) – Killed at Battle of Hastings
47. William II of England (1100) – Shot by an arrow, possibly accidentally
48. Bolesław III Wrymouth (1138, Poland) – Possibly poisoned
49. Stephen of England (1141) – Survived capture in battle
50. Thomas Becket (1170, England) – Murdered in Canterbury Cathedral
51. Andronikos I Komnenos (1185, Byzantine Empire) – Tortured and killed by mob

52. Philip of Swabia (1208, Holy Roman Empire) – Assassinated by Otto of Wittelsbach
53. Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (1203) – Possibly murdered by King John of England
54. Simon de Montfort (1218, Occitania) – Killed by stone projectile during siege
55. Louis VIII of France (1226) – Possibly poisoned during Albigensian Crusade

56. Louis I, Duke of Bavaria (1231) – Assassinated on bridge over Kelheim
57. Przemysł II (1296, Poland) – Assassinated by Brandenburg nobles
58. Albert I of Germany (1308) – Murdered by his nephew John of Swabia
Late Middle Ages and Renaissance (1300-1600 CE)
59. Edward II of England (1327) – Allegedly murdered after deposition
60. Barquq (1389, Mamluk Sultanate) – Survived overthrow attempt
61. Richard II of England (1400) – Starved to death in captivity
62. Louis I, Duke of Orléans (1407, France) – Assassinated by John the Fearless
63. John the Fearless (1419, France) – Assassinated on bridge at Montereau

64. James I of Scotland (1437) – Assassinated by conspirators

65. Ulugh Beg (1449, Timurid Empire) – Assassinated by his son
66. Henry VI of England (1471) – Likely murdered in the Tower of London

67. Galeazzo Maria Sforza (1476, Milan) – Assassinated in church

68. Edward V of England (1483) – Disappeared, presumed murdered
69. Richard III of England (1485) – Killed in Battle of Bosworth Field
70. Cem Sultan (1495, Ottoman Empire) – Possibly poisoned
71. Juan, Prince of Asturias (1497, Spain) – Possibly poisoned

72. Girolamo Savonarola (1498, Florence) – Executed by hanging and burning

73. Philip I of Castile (1506) – Possibly poisoned
74. Sher Shah Suri (1545, India) – Killed in accidental gunpowder explosion
75. Mirza Kamran (1557, Mughal Empire) – Blinded and exiled by Akbar
76. Eric XIV of Sweden (1577) – Allegedly poisoned in prison
77. Henri, Duke of Guise (1588, France) – Assassinated by King Henry III’s bodyguards

78. Henry III of France (1589) – Stabbed by Jacques Clément

79. Henry IV of France (1610) – Stabbed by François Ravaillac
17th Century
80. Concino Concini (1617, France) – Shot on orders of Louis XIII
81. Osman II (1622, Ottoman Empire) – Strangled by Janissaries
82. Albrecht von Wallenstein (1634, Holy Roman Empire) – Assassinated by imperial officers
83. Charles I of England (1649) – Executed by Parliamentarians

84. Guru Tegh Bahadur (1675, India) – Executed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb
85. Johan de Witt (1672, Dutch Republic) – Lynched by Orangist mob
86. Ahmed II (1695, Ottoman Empire) – Possibly poisoned
18th Century
87. Peter III of Russia (1762) – Allegedly murdered after abdication
88. Gustav III of Sweden (1792) – Shot at a masquerade ball
89. Louis XVI of France (1793) – Executed by guillotine

90. Marie Antoinette (1793, France) – Executed by guillotine
91. Jean-Paul Marat (1793, France) – Stabbed in his bath by Charlotte Corday
92. Maximilien Robespierre (1794, France) – Executed by guillotine
93. Selim III (1808, Ottoman Empire) – Killed by Janissaries
94. Paul I of Russia (1801) – Strangled in his bedroom
19th Century
95. Spencer Perceval (1812, UK) – Shot by John Bellingham
96. Jean-Jacques Dessalines (1806, Haiti) – Assassinated by political rivals
97. Ioannis Kapodistrias (1831, Greece) – Assassinated by Mavromichalis clan
98. Concepción Arenal (1893, Spain) – Survived assassination attempt
99. Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt (1848) – Survived assassination attempt
100. Daniel D. Tompkins (1825, USA) – Survived assassination attempt
101. Andrew Jackson (1835, USA) – Survived first assassination attempt on a U.S. President
102. Abraham Lincoln (1865, USA) – Shot by John Wilkes Booth

103. James A. Garfield (1881, USA) – Shot by Charles Guiteau
104. Alexander II of Russia (1881) – Bombed by Narodnaya Volya

105. William McKinley (1901, USA) – Shot by Leon Czolgosz
106. Empress Elisabeth of Austria (1898) – Stabbed by Luigi Lucheni
107. Umberto I of Italy (1900) – Shot by Gaetano Bresci
108. Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (1897, Spain) – Shot by Michele Angiolillo
109. Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar (1896, Persia) – Shot by Mirza Reza Kermani
20th Century (Pre-World War II)
110. George I of Greece (1913) – Shot in Thessaloniki

111. Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1914, Austria-Hungary) – Shot in Sarajevo
112. Grigori Rasputin (1916, Russian Empire) – Poisoned, shot, and drowned

113. Yuan Shikai (1916, China) – Possibly poisoned
114. Venustiano Carranza (1920, Mexico) – Assassinated while fleeing Mexico City
115. Takashi Hara (1921, Japan) – Stabbed by a railroad switchman
116. Michael Collins (1922, Ireland) – Ambushed and shot
117. Daisuke Namba (1924, Japan) – Attempted assassination of the Regent Hirohito, survived.
118. Symon Petliura (1926, France) – Shot by Sholom Schwartzbard
119. Inukai Tsuyoshi (1932, Japan) – Assassinated by young naval officers

120. Huey Long (1935, USA) – Shot in Louisiana State Capitol
121. Saitō Makoto (1936, Japan) – Killed during the February 26 Incident.
122. Alexander I of Yugoslavia (1934) – Shot in Marseille
123. Abdullah I of Jordan (1951) – Shot in Jerusalem
124. Engelbert Dollfuss (1934, Austria) – Shot during Nazi coup attempt
125. Carlos Delgado Chalbaud (1950, Venezuela) – Kidnapped and killed
126. Liaquat Ali Khan (1951, Pakistan) – Shot during a public meeting
127. Zhou Enlai (1955, China) – Survived a plane bombing attempt
128. Liu Shaoqi (1969, China) – Died in prison under harsh treatment, likely due to political purge
129. Song Jiaoren (1913, China) – Shot in Shanghai.
World War II Era
130. Reinhard Heydrich (1942, Czechoslovakia) – Died from injuries after attack
131. Hideki Tojo (1945, Japan) – Survived suicide attempt, later executed
132. Benito Mussolini (1945, Italy) – Executed by partisans

133. Hideki Tojo (1945, Japan) – Survived suicide attempt, later executed
133. Adolf Hitler (1945, Germany) – Committed suicide during fall of Berlin

Post-World War II to 1970
134. Mahatma Gandhi (1948, India) – Shot by Nathuram Godse
135. Jorge Eliécer Gaitán (1948, Colombia) – Shot in Bogotá
136. Aung San (1947, Burma) – Assassinated with cabinet members

137. Ramón Magsaysay (1957, Philippines) – Killed in a plane crash, suspected sabotage
138. Louis Mountbatten (1979, Ireland) – Killed by IRA bomb
139. Trujillo (1961, Dominican Republic) – Shot in ambush
140. John F. Kennedy (1963, USA) – Shot in Dallas
141. Ngo Dinh Diem (1963, Vietnam) – Assassinated during a coup.
142. Malcolm X (1965, USA) – Shot during speech in Manhattan
143. Hendrik Verwoerd (1966, South Africa) – Stabbed in Parliament

144. Martin Luther King Jr. (1968, USA) – Shot in Memphis

145. Robert F. Kennedy (1968, USA) – Shot in Los Angeles

1970s to Present
146. Sukarno (1970, Indonesia) – Died under house arrest, possibly poisoned
147. Salvador Allende (1973, Chile) – Died during military coup
148. King Faisal (1975, Saudi Arabia) – Shot by his nephew
149. Aldo Moro (1978, Italy) – Kidnapped and killed by Red Brigades
150. Park Chung-hee (1979, South Korea) – Shot by KCIA director
151. Anwar Sadat (1981, Egypt) – Shot during military parade

152. Anwar Sadat (1981, Egypt) – Assassinated during a military parade

153. Benigno Aquino Jr (1983, Philippines) – Shot at Manila International Airport.

154. Indira Gandhi (1984, India) – Shot by Sikh bodyguards
155. Olof Palme (1986, Sweden) – Shot in Stockholm
156. Rajiv Gandhi (1991, India) – Killed by suicide bomber
157. Mohamed Boudiaf (1992, Algeria) – Assassinated during a public speech

158. Yitzhak Rabin (1995, Israel) – Shot at rally in Tel Aviv
159. Selena (1995, Texas) – Shot by Yolanda Saldívar, the president of her fan club
160. Tupac Shakur (1996, Las Vegas) – Shot four times in a drive-by shooting, died six days later
161. Veronica Guerin (1996, Dublin) – Shot six times by drug lords while stopped at a traffic light
162. Gianni Versace (1997,Florida) – Assassinated on Miami Beach; shot twice by Andrew Cunanan on the steps of his mansion
163. Zoran Đinđić (2003, Serbia) – Shot in Belgrade
164. Theo van Gogh (2004, Amsterdam) – Shot and stabbed by Mohammed Bouyeri in retaliation for his controversial film
165. Rafic Hariri (2005, Lebanon) – Killed by a car bomb
166. Anna Politkovskaya (2006, Moscow) – Shot in the elevator of her apartment building
167. Alexander Litvinenko (2006, London) – Poisoned with polonium-210, allegedly by Russian agents
168. Hrant Dink (2007, Istanbul) – Shot three times outside the offices of his newspaper
169. Benazir Bhutto (2007, Pakistan) – Attack after political rally

170. Ali Abdullah Saleh (2017, Yemen) – Killed by Houthi rebels
171. Jovenel Moïse (2021, Haiti) – Assassinated in hRis residence
Notable Assassination Attempts (Targets Survived)
172. Theodore Roosevelt (1912, USA) – Shot but survived
173. Vladimir Lenin (1918, Russia) – Shot but survived

174. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933, USA) – Survived attempt in Miami
175. Adolf Hitler (Multiple attempts, most famous 1944) – Survived Stauffenberg bomb plot
176. Harry S Truman (1950, USA) – Survived attempt by Puerto Rican nationalists

177. Charles de Gaulle (1962, France) – Survived OAS attempts
178. Pope John Paul II (1981, Vatican City) – Shot but survived
179. Ronald Reagan (1981, USA) – Shot but survived

180. Mikhail Gorbachev (1991, USSR) – Survived coup attempt
181. Pervez Musharraf (2003, Pakistan) – Survived multiple attempts
174. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (2016, Turkey) – Survived coup attempt
175. Nicolas Maduro (2018, Venezuela) – Survived drone attack

176. Emperor Yōzei (884, Japan) – Survived abdication plot
177. Emperor Ai (904, China) – Poisoned by chancellor
178. Chai Rong (959, China) – Possibly poisoned
179. Emperor Shizong (959, China) – Possibly poisoned
180. Emperor Go-Sanjō (1073, Japan) – Possibly poisoned
181. Emperor Sutoku (1164, Japan) – Exiled and possibly assassinated
182. Mansa Sakura (1285, Mali Empire) – Assassinated on pilgrimage
183. Emperor Go-Daigo (1339, Japan) – Poisoned in exile
184. Iyasu I (1706, Ethiopia) – Deposed and killed
185. Iyoas I (1769, Ethiopia) – Assassinated by courtiers
186. Radama I (1828, Madagascar) – Possibly poisoned
187. Ranavalona I (1861, Madagascar) – Survived multiple plots
188. Emperor Kōmei (1867, Japan) – Possibly poisoned
189. Tewodros II (1868, Ethiopia) – Committed suicide during British invasion
190. Cetshwayo kaMpande (1884, Zulu Kingdom) – Poisoned
191. Menelik II (1913, Ethiopia) – Survived assassination attempt
192. Yuan Shikai (1916, China) – Possibly poisoned
193. Sun Yat-sen (1911, China) – Survived multiple attempts
194. Haile Selassie (1960, Ethiopia) – Survived coup attempt
195. Patrice Lumumba (1961, Congo) – Assassinated
196. Sylvanus Olympio (1963, Togo) – Assassinated in coup
197. John Lennon (December 8, 1980) – Assassinated in New York City; shot multiple times by Mark David Chapman
198. Samuel Doe (1990, Liberia) – Tortured and executed
199. Thomas Sankara (1987, Burkina Faso) – Assassinated in coup
200. Laurent Kabila (2001, DR Congo) – Assassinated by bodyguard
201. Zoran Đinđić (2003, Serbia) – Assassinated by sniper
202. Juvénal Habyarimana (1994, Rwanda) – Killed in plane crash
203. João Bernardo Vieira (2009, Guinea-Bissau) – Assassinated by soldiers
204. Muammar Gaddafi (2011, Libya) – Killed during civil war

205. Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (2020, Mali) – Survived coup attempt
206. Idriss Déby (2021, Chad) – Killed in battle with rebels
207. Shinzo Abe (2022, Japan) – Assassinated during speech

208. Chiang Kai-shek (1926, China) – Survived multiple attempts
209. Mao Zedong (1950, China) – Survived assassination attempt
210. Zhou Enlai (1955, China) – Survived plane bombing attempt
211. Deng Xiaoping (1976, China) – Survived multiple political purges
212. Park Chung-hee (1979, South Korea) – Assassinated by KCIA director
213. Kim Dae-jung (1973, South Korea) – Survived kidnapping attempt
214. Corazon Aquino (1987, Philippines) – Survived multiple coup attempts
215. Imelda Marcos (1972, Philippines) – Survived knife attack
216. Ne Win (1976, Burma/Myanmar) – Survived assassination attempt
217. Aung San Suu Kyi (2003, Burma/Myanmar) – Survived attack on convoy
218. Norodom Sihanouk (1959, Cambodia) – Survived multiple attempts
NOTE: The list is AI-generated by Claude AI.