Assassinations carried out against American politicians occurred as early as the 19th century, the earliest of which is believed to have been carried out against David Ramsay in 1815. Since then, several American politicians have been assassinated while being elected or appointed to office, or were candidates for public office. Out of these, four were president of the United States, the earliest of which being Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and the most recent being John F. Kennedy in 1963.[1]
There are 58 assassinated American politicians listed. The most common method of homicide was with one or more gunshots.
| Politician | Portrait | Party | Year | Office | State | Site | Method | Assassin | Suspected motive | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles C. P. Arndt | Whig | 1842 | Council of the Wisconsin territory | Wisconsin Territory | Madison, Wisconsin | gunshot | James Russell Vineyard | Killed after an argument arising after saying Vineyard wasn’t telling the truth | [2] | ||
| Whig | 1842 | Wisconsin Territorial Legislator | Madison, Wisconsin (in the Old Wisconsin State Capitol) | gunshot | Killed during an argument over a political appointment. | [3] | |||||
| Nonpartisan | 1847 | Governor | New Mexico Territory | Taos, New Mexico (at home) | arrows and scalping | Tomás Romero | Targeted during Taos Revolt, a popular uprising against newly asserted US authority over the region after the Mexican–American War. | ||||
| Democratic | 1998 | State Senator | Cumberland County, Tennessee (at home) | gunshot | (the incumbent Putnam County Assessor) | Killed by political opponent in 1998 State Senate race | [4] | ||||
| Charles Caldwell | Republican | 1875 | State Senator and Militia Leader (Clinton Riot) | Mississippi | Clinton, Mississippi | gunshot | Assassinated by a white mob in Clinton, Mississippi | [5] | |||
| Democratic | 1877 | State Representative | El Paso, Texas | gunshot | Charles Howard | Killed as part of the San Elizario Salt War, a dispute over salt mining claims between white and Hispanic settlers | [6] | ||||
| Democratic | 1933 | Mayor of Chicago | Illinois | Miami, Florida (in motorcade) | gunshot to lung | Disputed; suspected of striking Cermak instead of intended target President-elect Franklin Roosevelt | [7] | ||||
| Republican | 1904 | Superintendent of Public Instruction (former congressman and territory politician) | New Mexico territory | Pinoswells, New Mexico | gunshots (through the window of his home) | unknown assailant | Unknown | [8] | |||
| Republican | 1889 | US Representative-elect | Arkansas | Plumerville, Arkansas | gunshots (through the window of his home) | unknown assailant | Unknown, but killed in the context of a disputed election | [9] | |||
| Republican | 2019 | State Senator | Arkansas | Pocahontas, Arkansas (outside her home) | stabbed | Rebecca Lynn O’Donnell | Killed during an argument over money theft. | [10] | |||
| 1988 | Judge, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York | New York | Pelham, New York (at home) | gunshot | Charles Koster | Assailant was the father of a plaintiff whose harassment suit was dismissed by Daronco. | [11] | ||||
| Democratic | 2003 | New York | New York City (at City Hall) | gunshots | Killed by prospective challenger for 2003 Council special election | [12] | |||||
| Democratic | 1937 | Lieutenant Governor (former) | Kentucky | Shelbyville, Kentucky (outside the Armstrong Hotel) | gunshots | E.S. Garr; Roy Garr | Killed by brothers of his late fiancée whom he was charged with murdering | [13] | |||
| Democratic | 1939 | Mayor, Long Beach | New York | Long Beach, New York (outside his home) | gunshot | Alvin Dooley | Edwards' political influence thwarted Dooley's re-election to post in a police union. | [14] | |||
| Democratic | 1879 | Kentucky | Frankfort, Kentucky (after conversation on a public street) | gunshots | Thomas Buford (Henry County District Judge) | Assailant was brother of a plaintiff who lost a farm after Elliott dismissed motion for stay of foreclosure | [15] | ||||
| Republican | 1881 (details) | President of the United States | Washington, D.C. (at railway station) | gunshot to spine (died three months later) | Targeted after assailant was rejected by Republican officials for a patronage appointment | [16] | |||||
| Democratic | 1900 | Governor | Kentucky | Frankfort, Kentucky (outside Old State Capitol) | gunshot to the chest | Unknown political opponents | Uncertain, but killed in the context of the disputed, fraudulent 1899 Kentucky gubernatorial election. | [17] | |||
| Democratic | 2008 | Chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas | Arkansas | Little Rock, Arkansas (at his office at party headquarters) | gunshots | Tim Johnson | Unknown; multiple theories proposed. | [18] | |||
| Democratic | 1893 | Mayor of Chicago | Illinois | Chicago, Illinois (at home) | gunshot | Assailant was rejected for appointment to a patronage post as corporation counsel. | [19] | ||||
| Republican | 1869 | US Representative | Alabama | Courtland, Alabama (at a political rally) | gunshot | Collins (first name unknown) | Assailant was a supporter of the target's rival for the Republican nomination for the Congressional race; both men exchanged verbal insults and engaged in fisticuffs before a weapon was brandished | [20] | |||
| Democratic | 1868 | US Representative (former) | Arkansas | Helena, Arkansas (at home) | gunshots through window | Unknown assailants | Unknown; multiple theories proposed. | [21] | |||
| Republican | 1868 | US Representative | Arkansas | Monroe County, Arkansas (on horseback) | gunshot | George Clark | Killed by a Ku Klux Klan member as intimidation of Republican carpetbaggers | [22] | |||
| Democratic | 1870 | Delegate to the US House of Representatives (former) | Idaho Territory | Idaho City, Idaho (outside the County Courthouse) | gunshot | Charles Douglas | Killed by the brother-in-law of James Crutcher, as a result of a dispute between Holbrook and Crutcher for control of the Boise County Democratic Party | [23] | |||
| Republican | 1875 | State senator | Florida | Near Lake City, Florida or Fernandina, Florida | gunshot | Unknown | Break 12–12 tie in Florida Senate. | ||||
| Prohibition | 1902 | Mayor of Newton, Illinois, Presidential candidate | Bogota, Illinois | gunshot | Harry Harris | Killed while attempting to collect a debt owed to him by Harris | [24] | ||||
| Democratic | 1970 | State Representative | Kansas City, Missouri (outside a restaurant) | gunshots | Unknown | Unknown, alleged to have been an organized crime contract killing | [25] | ||||
| Democratic | 1963 (details) | President of the United States | Dallas, Texas (in motorcade) | gunshots from sniper | Lee Harvey Oswald | Disputed | [26] | ||||
| Democratic | 1968 (details) | US Senator and a leading 1968 Democratic presidential candidate | New York | Los Angeles, California (at the Ambassador Hotel) | gunshot | Sirhan Sirhan | Targeted as supporter of Israel in the Arab–Israeli conflict. | [27] | |||
| 1986 | Mayor of Mount Pleasant | Iowa | Mount Pleasant, Iowa | gunshot | Ralph Davis | Upset by sewage backup on his property. | [28] | ||||
| Larry Kuriyama | 1970 | State senator | Hawaii | Honolulu | gunshot | Unknown | Organized crime | [29] | |||
| 1844 (details) | Secretary of State | Oregon City, Oregon (in his office) | gunshots | Cockstock | Killed by a native as part of Native American resistance to white settlement in the area | [30] | |||||
| Republican | 1865 (details) | President of the United States | Washington, DC. (Ford's Theatre) | gunshot | , a renowned stage actor | Assailant was a Confederate sympathizer who believed the war was still ongoing | [31] | ||||
| Republican | 1980 | Mayor of Evansville (former) | Indiana | Evansville, Indiana | gunshot | Julia van Orden | Assailant was mentally ill and believed she was being harassed by the city; she believed Lloyd was incumbent mayor | [32] | |||
| Democratic | 1935 (details) | Louisiana | Baton Rouge, Louisiana (inside the State Capitol) | gunshots | Carl Weiss | Uncertain, but Weiss was affiliated with a political family that opposed Long's machine | [33] | ||||
| Democratic | 1980 | US Representative | New York | New York City (in his office) | gunshots | Dennis Sweeney | Assailant had a history of mental illness and believed that Lowenstein had been plotting against him since their acquaintance at Stanford University | [34] | |||
| Republican | 1873 | Governor | Dakota Territory | Yankton, Dakota Territory (at a saloon used for a public meeting) | gunshot | Peter Wintermute | Assailant had lost a fistfight with McCook over financing the Dakota Southern Railroad; he returned with a pistol, publicly humiliated by his loss | [35] | |||
| Republican | 1901 (details) | President of the United States | Buffalo, New York (at Pan-American Exposition) | gunshot | Leon Czolgosz | Assailant was aligned with anarchist movement and killed President as symbol of American inequality | [36] | ||||
| Republican | 2013 | District Attorney for Kaufman County | Texas | Forney, Texas (at home) | gunshot | Killed by former justice of the peace who was convicted of burglary while in office | [37] | ||||
| Democratic | 1978 (details) | California | San Francisco, California (in his City Hall office) | gunshots | Dan White, outgoing San Francisco City Supervisor | Assailant had recently resigned from office due to financial setbacks; he changed his mind and sought reappointment; Moscone denied this request upon the advice of Milk | [38] | ||||
| Democratic | 1978 (details) | Mayor of San Francisco | California | San Francisco, California (in his City Hall office) | gunshots | ||||||
| Democratic | 1954 | Attorney General-elect | Alabama | Phenix City, Alabama (walking to his vehicle) | gunshots | Unknown | Target was elected on promise to crack down on organized crime in the state, which was rooted in Phenix City | [39] | |||
| John Patterson | 1974 | United States Vice Consul | Mexico | Hermosillo, Mexico | blows to the head | Bobby Joe Keesee | Ransom of $500,000 | [40] [41] | |||
| Democratic | 2015 (details) | State Senator | South Carolina | Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Charleston, South Carolina | gunshot | Dylann Roof | White supremacy | [42] [43] | |||
| Democratic | 1905 | US Representative | Texas | Hempstead, Texas | gunshots | Unknown | Killed during riot instigated by opponents of alcohol prohibition | [45] | |||
| 1815 | State Senator and former Continental Representative | South Carolina | Charleston, South Carolina | gunshots | William Linnen | Assailant retaliated after target had deemed him insane during criminal court inquiry | [46] | ||||
| American Nazi | 1967 | Gubernatorial candidate | Virginia | Arlington, Virginia | gunshots | John Patler | Assailant was angered by Rockwell expelling him from the American Nazi Party | [47] | |||
| Republican | 2011 (details) | Judge, U.S. District Court, District of Arizona | Arizona | Casas Adobes, Arizona | gunshots | Jared Lee Loughner | [48] | ||||
| (Mexican) | 1848 | Mayor of Taos Pueblo | New Mexico provisional government | Taos, New Mexico (while imprisoned) | gunshots | John Fitzgerald | Killed following capture for inciting Taos Revolt; assailant retaliating for his brother's death in this uprising | [49] | |||
| Democratic | 1978 (details) | US Representative | California | Port Kaituma, Guyana (on airport tarmac) | gunshots | Unknown members of the People's Temple | Ambushed while investigating allegations of human rights abuses at the Jonestown compound | [50] | |||
| Democratic | 1867 | Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court | New Mexico Territory | Santa Fe, New Mexico (at his office) | gunshot | William Ryerson (an incumbent Territorial Legislator) | Killed after a public dispute in which each accused the other of corruption | [51] | |||
| Democratic-Republican | 1825 (details) | Attorney General, State Senator-elect | Kentucky | Home in Frankfort, Kentucky | stabbed (at home) | Jereboam O. Beauchamp | Killed over long-standing dispute based on political differences, and on Sharp fathering a child with the woman whom Beauchamp later married | [52] | |||
| Reform | 1844 (details) | Mayor of Nauvoo, presidential candidate | Illinois | Carthage, Illinois (while in jail) | gunshots | The Carthage Greys | Founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons) targeted by an anti-Mormon mob for his growing political power | [53] [54] | |||
| Democratic | 2012 (details) | Ambassador to Libya | Benghazi, Libya | arson | members of Ansar al-Sharia and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb | Unknown | [55] [56] | ||||
| Republican | 1870 | State Senator | North Carolina | Yanceyville, North Carolina (in the County Courthouse) | gunshots | Unknown, mobbed by estimated 8 to 12 men | Killed by Ku Klux Klan member as part of intimidation of Republicans | [57] | |||
| Democratic | 1905 | Governor (former) | Idaho | Caldwell, Idaho (outside his home) | bomb (set at his front gate) | Harry Orchard
| Killed by a mine owners' association informant in an attempt to cast blame on the Western Federation of Miners | [58] | |||
| Democratic | 1856 | State Representative | Michigan | Beaver Island, Michigan (at a steamship terminal) | gunshot | Thomas Bedford | Killed by a disgruntled former member of a Mormon sect led by Strang | [59] | |||
| 2008 (details) | Mayor of Kirkwood | Missouri | Kirkwood, Missouri (during a city council meeting) | gunshot (died seven months later)[60] | Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton | Assailant retaliated for fines levied by municipality for code violations | [61] | ||||
| Democratic | 1882 | Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives | Mississippi | Baldwyn, Mississippi (while walking) | gunshots | J. Edward Sanders | Killed in retaliation for an alleged assault by his brother S. H. Tison | [62] | |||
| Democratic | 1989 | Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit | Mountain Brook, Alabama (at home) | mail bomb | Walter Moody | Killed after court refused to expunge a previous conviction for explosives possession from assailant's record | [63] | ||||
| Republican | 1891 | State Senator and territorial legislator | Kansas | Hugoton, Kansas (outside County Courthouse) | gunshots | James Brennan | Killed during armed conflict between the two largest towns of Stevens County, Kansas fighting for county seat | [64] | |||
| 1979 | Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas | San Antonio, Texas (outside his home) | gunshot | Charles Harrelson | Contract killing ordered by Jamiel Chagra due to target's harsh convictions of Latin American drug kingpins | [65] | |||||
| Major Ridge | Cherokee nation | 1839 | Leader of the Cherokee nation | White Rock Creek | gunshots | Bird Doublehead | Killed as retaliation for alleged responsibility in the deaths of 4,000 Cherokee on the trail of tears |
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