The murder of public figures is called assassination. Since 1900 many world leaders have been killed in this way, mostly for political reasons. After 1970 ordinary citizens and military personnel also became targets of assassins. Early historyAssassinations have taken place in all parts of the world and in every period of history. Ancient Greeks and Romans sometimes practiced tyrannicide—the killing of a tyrant, or a cruel ruler. The slaying of Julius Caesar on March 15, in 44 BC, was considered by the assassins to be an act in the interest of the country. They thought that they were saving the Roman republic from a would-be king. This murder took place only four years after Caesar's great rival, Pompey, was assassinated in Egypt. Assassination as a political weapon was adopted in the Islamic world of the 11th century. A man named Hasan-e Sabbah founded a secret order of Muslims in Persia (now Iran) in about 1090. He is said to have given his followers a drug called hashish, made from Indian hemp. This gave them visions of an Islamic paradise. They were led to believe that they would have a glorious afterlife if they followed Hasan's orders and killed his political enemies. The killers were called hashshashin, meaning “those who smoke hashish.” This name eventually changed to “assassin.” Political leaders and other well-known personalities have continued to be victims of public murders. François Ravaillac killed Henry IV of France on May 14, 1610. In 1793 Jean-Paul Marat, a French revolutionary politician, was stabbed in his bath by Charlotte Corday. American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated on April 4, 1968. MotiveRevengeSometimes the assassination of a political figure is an act of personal or social revenge. The killing of American presidents has often fallen into the vengeance, or revenge, category. Charles Guiteau, a dissatisfied politician, shot President James Garfield on July 2, 1881. Guiteau was convinced that he had been wrongly denied the political rewards that he deserved. The reason for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, is less clear. Some historians think that the murderer John Wilkes Booth was attempting to avenge the South's defeat in the American Civil War. Similar uncertainty surrounds the killing of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald was a single gunman who is believed to have acted from personal motives. There have been, however, frequent accusations that Oswald was part of a conspiracy. IdealismIdealism has motivated some assassinations, too. The victim was chosen because the murderer believed the death of that person would benefit humankind or a particular cause. Probably the most notable instance of this was the failed attempt on the life of German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in the summer of 1944. PropagandaAnother type of assassination is often called “propaganda by the deed.” Murder, in this case, is an attention-getting device. It is designed to gain publicity for some particular point of view. The 19th-century anarchists, or people who believed that all governments interfere with the freedom of the individual, practiced such crimes. In the years between 1881 and 1914, anarchists killed several heads of state. They were Alexander II of Russia (1881), President Sadi Carnot of France (1894), Premier Antonio Cánovas del Castillo of Spain (1897), Empress Elizabeth of Austria-Hungary (1898), King Umberto of Italy (1900), President William McKinley of the United States (1901), and Premier José Canalejas of Spain (1912). Probably the most significant assassination of the 20th century for propaganda purposes was that of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, killed him and his wife on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. This had a devastating outcome. The anger aroused in Europe by this assassination added to the existing international tensions. The result was the start of World War I five weeks later. The second half of the 20th century has known its share of propaganda assassinations. One of the most notorious killings was that of former Italian premier Aldo Moro by the Red Brigades, an Italian terrorist group. He was kidnapped on March 16, 1978. His body was found in a parked car in Rome nearly two months later. RevolutionOne of the reasons for political killing is that the assassins believe that it will result in a change in leadership or government. Such assassinations often occur during a military coup. On April 12, 1980, members of the Liberian army executed the president of Liberia, William R. Tolbert. A new government was installed. On October 26, 1979, the president of South Korea, Park Chung Hee, was killed by one of his associates. There was no change in the form of government. The Hindu nationalist who killed Mahatma Gandhi in 1948 probably wanted to change the course of India's internal policies. However, assassinations for political reasons have not always brought about the desired change. |