Which U.S. Political Figures Have Been Assassinated?

Political assassinations have been happening in the United States almost since the country was born. Including the Jan. 8 assassination of U.S. Federal Judge John Roll during a political event held at a Tucson, Ariz. during which Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was critically injured 34 U.S. public officials in total have been assassinated since the country's inception. Here is the list:

Assassinated American Politicians

Solomon P. Sharp (1825) Kentucky Attorney General, Kentucky State Senator-elect Charles Bent (1847) Governor of New Mexico TerritoryJames Strang (1856) Michigan State Representative Abraham Lincoln (1865) President of the United StatesJohn P. Slough (1867) Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme CourtThomas C. Hindman (1868) Ex-congressman from ArkansasJames M. Hinds (1868) Congressman from ArkansasEdward Dexter Holbrook (1870) Ex-delegate to the United States House of Representatives from Idaho TerritoryJames A. Garfield (1881) President of the United StatesJohn M. Clayton (1889) Congressman-elect from ArkansasCarter Harrison Sr. (1893) Mayor of ChicagoWilliam Goebel (1900) Governor of KentuckyWilliam McKinley (1901) President of the United StatesFrank Steunenberg (1905) Ex-governor of IdahoAnton Cermak (1933) Mayor of ChicagoHuey Long (1935) United States Senator from LouisianaAlbert Patterson (1954) Alabama Attorney General-electJohn F. Kennedy (1963) President of the United StatesGeorge Lincoln Rockwell (1967) Fringe candidate for Governor of Virginia and founder of the American Nazi PartyRobert F. Kennedy (1968) United States Senator and leading presidential candidate from New YorkHarvey Milk (1978) San Francisco City SupervisorGeorge Moscone (1978) Mayor of San FranciscoLeo Ryan (1978) Congressman from CaliforniaJr., John H. Wood (1979) U.S. federal judgeAllard Lowenstein (1980) Ex-congressman from New YorkRussell G. Lloyd Sr. (1980) Ex-mayor of Evansville, Ind.Ed King (1986) Mayor of Mount Pleasant, IowaRobert Smith Vance (1989) U.S. federal judgeTommy Burks (1998) Tennessee State SenatorDerwin Brown (2000) Sheriff-elect of DeKalb County, Ga.James E. Davis (2003) New York City CouncilmanBill Gwatney (2008) Chairman of Arkansas Democratic PartyJohn Thornton (2010) Mayor of Washington Park, Ill.John Roll (2011) U.S. Federal Judge

Attempted Assassinations of United States Presidents

Andrew Jackson (1835)Abraham Lincoln (1864)Theodore Roosevelt (1912)Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933) Harry S. Truman (1950)John F. Kennedy (1960)Richard Nixon (1974)Gerald Ford (Twice in 1975)Ronald Reagan (1981)George H. W. Bush (1993 thwarted mid-attempt)Bill Clinton (Twice in 1994, 2006)George W. Bush (Twice in 2001, 2005, 2008 - 2001 and 2008 attempts foiled mid-attempt)Barack Obama (2008 attempt thwarted at plotting stage)

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Remy Melina was a staff writer for Live Science from 2010 to 2012. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Hofstra University where she graduated with honors.