BLOGGING THE VIEW: 7 assassinations that impacted history

On 5 November, parts of the world will celebrate Guy Fawkes, the misguided attempt by a group of zealots to blow up the British Houses of Parliament in 1605.

This ill-fated anarchy saw Robert Catesby leading a group of Roman Catholic conspirators – Guy Fawkes among them – intent on killing King James I for his lack of religious tolerance.

In some macabre celebration of his burning at the stake, we now sip drinks and watch fireworks.

And while their attempt was somewhat short of successful, there have been a number of political assassinations that changed the course of history.

Here are some of them:

1. John F Kennedy

Who shot JFK? While Lee Harvey Oswald was charged, he claimed to have been framed for shooting the 35th president of the United States in his Texas motorcade in 1963.

This was an assassination that resonated around the world, largely because of Kennedy’s popularity, as well as his level head in dealing with a series of crises, among them the Cuban Missile Crisis during the Cold War.

2. MK Gandhi

It was a violent end for a man who spent his life preaching non-violence. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a leader of the Indian nationalist movement against British rule, and considered to be the father of his country.

He used a doctrine of non-violent protest to achieve unifying goals, but in January 1948, he was shot by a Hindu nationalist who believed Gandhi favoured Muslims.

3. Franz Ferdinand

This assassination can be directly connected with the start of the First World War. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was visiting Sarajevo in Bosnia in 1914 when a young man shot and killed the archduke and his wife.

The previous heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Franz became politically involved.

His assassination was the spark that ignited a ticking timebomb of war, with Austria declaring war against Serbia.

4. Abraham Lincoln

One of America’s most famous and well-loved presidents, Lincoln was shot at point-blank range by John Wilkes Booth while watching a play at Ford’s Theatre in 1865.

He had brought his country through a Civil War and the horrors of slavery, but his life was still cut short.

5. Malcolm X

A human rights activist, minister, supporter of black nationalism, and leader of the civil rights movement, Malcolm X was a strong orator who urged black Americans to protect themselves against white aggression.

He achieved prominence in the Nation of Islam which merged Islam and black nationalism, but was assassinated in 1965 after denouncing the group. Posthumously, his words inspired the Black Power movement.

6. Martin Luther King Jr

A Nobel Peace Prize winner, a Baptist minister and a social activist, Martin Luther King Jr led the civil rights movement until his assassination in 1968.

His movement ended the legal segregation of black Americans through peaceful means. Once again, despite promoting peace, he suffered a violent end when he was shot on a balcony in Memphis, Tennessee.

7. Chris Hani

Chris Hani was introduced to politics early in life, and his exposure to Marxist ideology at the University of Fort Hare inspired him.

His father had been active in the ANC, but it was in 1957 that his political involvement was entrenched through his ANCYL membership.

He joined Umkhonto we Sizwe but eventually went into hiding, returning to South Africa in 1990.

He became a figurehead for the extreme left, becoming secretary-general of the SACP.

He was assassinated in 1993 by a radical right-wing Polish immigrant, ending what would have been an impactful career in politics.

SOURCES:
https://www.britannica.com/story/9-infamous-assassins-and-the-world-leaders-they-dispatched
https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/chris-hani
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/malcolm-x

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