Post

Days since a U.S. President was last shot

Throughout American history, there have been numerous attempts to assassinate sitting presidents, as well as president-elects and presidential candidates. In total, four American presidents have been assassinated and there have been thirteen other attempted assassinations (two of which were on Gerald Ford, within weeks of each other):

  1. Abraham Lincoln (1865) - Republican Party
  2. James A. Garfield (1881) - Republican Party
  3. William McKinley (1901) - Republican Party
  4. John F. Kennedy (1963) - Democratic Party

Note that the chart above highlights the date of the shooting, not necessarily the date of death attributed to the shooting. Lincoln for example was shot April 14th, 1865 and died the 15th. Garfield was shot July 2nd, 1881 and died September 19th. McKinley was shot September 6th, 1901 and died the 14th. Kennedy was shot and killed November 22nd, 1963.

These assassinations had significant impacts on American history and led to changes in presidential security measures over time. Each of the assassinated presidents belonged to one of the two major political parties of their time. Here's a breakdown:

It's worth noting that the Republican Party of Lincoln's era was quite different from the modern Republican Party in many of its policies and positions. The parties have evolved significantly over time, with major shifts in their platforms and constituencies occurring especially during the 20th century.

Kennedy was the only Democrat among the four assassinated presidents. His assassination came during a time of significant social and political change in the United States.

There have been several attempted assassinations of U.S. presidents that were unsuccessful. Here's a list of some notable attempts:

  1. Andrew Jackson (1835) - The first known attempt on a sitting U.S. president. The would-be assassin's gun misfired twice.

  2. Theodore Roosevelt (1912) - Shot while campaigning for a third term, but survived. The bullet was slowed by a folded speech and glasses case in his pocket!

  3. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933) - An attempt was made before he took office. The assassin missed FDR but killed Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak.

  4. Harry S. Truman (1950) - Two Puerto Rican nationalists attempted to storm Blair House, where Truman was staying during White House renovations.

  5. Gerald Ford (1975) - Two separate attempts within 17 days. Both failed.

  6. Ronald Reagan (1981) - Shot and seriously wounded, but survived. This is often considered the closest a president has come to death by assassination since Kennedy.

  7. Bill Clinton (1994) - A man fired shots at the White House from outside the fence, but Clinton was not harmed.

  8. George W. Bush (2005) - A grenade thrown at Bush during a speech in Georgia (the country) failed to detonate.

  9. Barack Obama - Several plots were uncovered during his presidency, but none resulted in attempts that came close to fruition. In 2014, an armed security contractor with three prior criminal convictions was allowed to ride an elevator with President Barack Obama, according to reports by the Washington Post and the Washington Examiner.

  10. Donald Trump (2024) - On September 15, 2024, Donald Trump, then-nominee of the Republican Party in the 2024 presidential election, survived an assassination attempt while golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Adapted from Code by Mike Bostock and Toph Tucker. Based on the Wikipedia article, “List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots”.