US leaders who were killed or survived assassination attempts — pictures taken from Reuters.

US leaders who were killed or survived assassination attempts

From Abraham Lincoln to Donald Trump, the US harbors a history of assassination attempts on its presidents.
Published July 14, 2024

Donald Trump was shot by a gunman during a campaign rally on Saturday in what the FBI called an attempted assassination of the former US president, who survived the attack and appeared to have a wounded ear.

Below is a list of other previous attempts on the lives of American leaders, successful or not.

Assassinations

Four US presidents were assassinated while in office. Abraham Lincoln: Killed in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre in Washington.

James Garfield: Shot in 1881 in Washington at a train station, and died of his wounds two and a half months later.

William McKinley: Assassinated in 1901 by an anarchist in Buffalo, New York.

John F Kennedy — Reuters
John F Kennedy — Reuters

John F. Kennedy: Lee Harvey Oswald shot Kennedy in 1963 in Dallas, Texas as the president rode in a motorcade.

Leaders who survived assassinations attempts

Three presidents were wounded but survived assassination attempts, while in office or afterwards.

Donald Trump— Reuters
Donald Trump— Reuters

Donald Trump: Trump had just started a campaign speech in Pennsylvania on Saturday, when shots rang out. A bullet appeared to have grazed his ear, which was bleeding. He was rushed by security officials to a black SUV.

— Reuters
— Reuters

Ronald Reagan: He was shot in 1981 outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington but survived the attack. Reagan was wounded when one of the bullets ricocheted off a limousine and struck him under the left armpit.

President Gerald Ford: Survived two attempts on his life in less than three weeks in 1975 without being hurt.

Theodore Roosevelt— Reuters
Theodore Roosevelt— Reuters

Theodore Roosevelt: He was shot in the chest in 1912 while campaigning for elections in Milwaukee and survived.

Assassination attempts on other US leaders

Robert F. Kennedy: A US presidential candidate, Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 42 by a gunman in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

Alabama Governor George C. Wallace: Shot in 1982 and became paralyzed from the waist down.