Discover the background of historic assassinations with the help of this thorough guide. Learn about significant killings such as that of Martin Luther King Jr., Indira Gandhi, and Abraham Lincoln. Learn the causes and effects of these unfortunate occurrences.
| Assassination | Year | Victim | Assassin | Motive | ||
| Julius Caesar | 44 BC | Julius Caesar | Marcus Brutus | Political conspiracy | ||
| Abraham Lincoln | 1865 | Abraham Lincoln | John Wilkes Booth | Revenge/political | ||
| Archduke Franz Ferdinand | 1914 | Archduke Franz Ferdinand | Gavrilo Princip | Nationalism | ||
| Mahatma Gandhi | 1948 | Mahatma Gandhi | Nathuram Godse | Political differences | ||
| John F. Kennedy | 1963 | John F. Kennedy | Lee Harvey Oswald | Political conspiracy | ||
| Martin Luther King Jr. | 1968 | Martin Luther King Jr. | James Earl Ray | Racial hatred | ||
| John Lennon | 1980 | John Lennon | Mark David Chapman | Personal obsession | ||
| Indira Gandhi | 1984 | Indira Gandhi | Beant Singh | Political grievances | ||
| Yitzhak Rabin | 1995 | Yitzhak Rabin | Yigal Amir | Opposition to peace | ||
| Princess Diana | 1997 | Princess Diana | Henri Paul | Tragic car accident | ||
| Franz Ferdinand | 1914 | Franz Ferdinand | Gavrilo Princip | Nationalism | ||
| Malcolm X | 1965 | Malcolm X | Thomas Hagan | Political differences | ||
| Robert F. Kennedy | 1968 | Robert F. Kennedy | Sirhan Sirhan | Political motives | ||
| Anwar Sadat | 1981 | Anwar Sadat | Khalid Islambouli | Political differences | ||
| Benazir Bhutto | 2007 | Benazir Bhutto | Pervez Musharraf | Political rivalry | ||
| Muammar Gaddafi | 2011 | Muammar Gaddafi | Rebel forces | Political uprising | ||
| Osama bin Laden | 03-Jul | Osama bin Laden | US Navy SEALs | Retribution/justice | ||
| Kim Jong-nam | 2017 | Kim Jong-nam | Two women | Political intrigue | ||
| Jamal Khashoggi | 2018 | Jamal Khashoggi | Saudi operatives | Dissident journalism | ||
| Qasem Soleimani | 2020 | Qasem Soleimani | US drone strike | Counterterrorism | ||
| Abraham Lincoln | 1865 | Abraham Lincoln | John Wilkes Booth | Political revenge | ||
| Archduke Franz Ferdinand | 1914 | Archduke Franz Ferdinand | Gavrilo Princip | Nationalism | ||
| Leon Trotsky | 1940 | Leon Trotsky | Ramón Mercader | Political ideology | ||
| Martin Luther King Jr. | 1968 | Martin Luther King Jr. | James Earl Ray | Racial hatred | ||
| Indira Gandhi | 1984 | Indira Gandhi | Beant Singh | Political grievances | ||
| Olof Palme | 1986 | Olof Palme | Christer Pettersson | Personal grudge | ||
| Yitzhak Rabin | 1995 | Yitzhak Rabin | Yigal Amir | Opposition to peace | ||
| Gianni Versace | 1997 | Gianni Versace | Andrew Cunanan | Personal obsession | ||
| Benazir Bhutto | 2007 | Benazir Bhutto | Unidentified gunmen | Political rivalry | ||
| Boris Nemtsov | 2015 | Boris Nemtsov | Zaur Dadayev | Political opposition |
