Assassination

Assassination, the act of taking the life of any one by surprise or treacherous violence, either by a hired emissary, by one devoted to the deed, or by one who has taken the task upon himself. Generally, the term is applied to the murder of a public personage by one who aims solely at the death of his victim. In ancient times, assassination was not unknown, and was often even applauded, as in the scriptural instances of Ehud and Jaël, and in the murder of Hipparchus by Harmodius and Aristogeiton (q.v.); but assassination by enthusiasts and men devoted to an idea first becomes really prominent in the religious struggles of the 16th and 17th centuries. To this class belong the plots against the life of Queen Elizabeth; while the horrible succession of assassinations of Roman emperors is simply a series of murders prompted by self-interest or revenge. Omitting these last, which are noted elsewhere, the following list includes the most important assassinations, arranged in chronological order. With one or two exceptions, fuller accounts of the persons mentioned will be found under their particular headings.

Several of those noted had escaped more than once. The Assassination Plot in English history was a conspiracy by some Jacobites to murder William III. in 1696. It is doubtful whether Louis XIV. and James II. were privy to the scheme; the chief conspirator was Sir George Barclay. The king was to have been assassinated at Turnham Green on his return from a hunting-party; but one of the forty conspirators sent word to the king, the hunting was postponed, a number of the conspirators were arrested, and nine of them executed. A catalogue of unsuccessful attempts at assassination would be too long for insertion here; but the most important within the last hundred years have been directed as follows: Against Alexander III. of Russia, repeatedly; Alfonso XII. of Spain, 1878 and 1879; Amadeus of Spain, 1872; Duc d'Anmale, 1841; Prince Bismarck, 1866 and 1874; Francis Joseph of Austria, 1853; George III. of England, 1786 and 1800; George IV. (when Regent), 1817; Humbert I. of Italy, 1878; Isabella II. of Spain, 1847, 1852, and 1856; Louis-Philippe, six attempts from 1835 to 1846; Lord Lytton, Viceroy of India, 1878; Napoleon I., by infernal machine, 1800; Napoleon III., twice in 1855, and Orsini's attempt in 1858; Queen Victoria, June 10, 1840, May 30, 1842, July 3, 1842, May 19, 1849, and March 2, 1882; William I. of Germany, 1861, 1875, and 1878. See also ANARCHISM, BARTHOLOMEW (MASSACRE OF), DYNAMITE, GUNPOWDER PLOT, NIHILISM, POLITICAL OFFENCES, THUGS; and an article in the Edinburgh Review for July 1887.