12 Assassination Attempts That Failed

This list examines a diverse set of failed assassination attempts spanning four centuries, from the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 to modern political violence in the 1980s. Each entry highlights how chance, security measures, quick responses, or simple misfortune spared the intended victims and shaped subsequent policy, propaganda, and public memory.

1. 1. Gunpowder Plot (1605)

A group of English Catholics led by Robert Catesby attempted to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament, hoping to kill King James I and much of the political elite. The plot was discovered when an anonymous tip led to a search, and Guy Fawkes was caught guarding the hidden barrels of gunpowder. The conspirators fled, were hunted down, and the plot became a lasting example of a high-stakes, narrowly foiled political assassination.

2. 2. Edward Oxford’s shot at Queen Victoria (1840)

At the age of 18, Edward Oxford fired two pistol shots at Queen Victoria as she rode in a carriage in London, but both pistols misfired or missed and the queen was unharmed. Oxford was arrested immediately and later declared insane, sparking public debate about monarch security and mental illness. The attempt led to increased protection for Victoria and to changes in how public appearances by the sovereign were managed.

3. 3. Violet Gibson’s attempt on Benito Mussolini (1926)

Irishwoman Violet Gibson approached Benito Mussolini during a public procession in Rome and fired a pistol that grazed his nose and injured him slightly, though Mussolini quickly recovered. Gibson was seized by bystanders and institutionalized, while the fascist regime used the incident to project strength and to stifle dissent further.

4. 4. John Flammang Schrank’s attempt on Theodore Roosevelt (1912)

While campaigning as a third-party presidential candidate, Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest by John Schrank in Milwaukee. However, a folded steel-reinforced speech and the bullet’s shallow path allowed Roosevelt to survive and deliver his scheduled speech. The incident became part of Roosevelt’s legend, and it highlighted the dangers politicians faced during open, large-crowd campaigns.

5. 5. July 20 Plot against Adolf Hitler (1944)

Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and several co-conspirators planted a bomb at a military briefing at Hitler’s Wolfsschanze headquarters, aiming to kill Hitler and trigger a coup to topple the Nazi regime. The bomb exploded and killed officers, but Hitler survived with relatively minor injuries, thanks in part to the briefcase’s repositioning and structural factors. The plot’s failure led to a ruthless purge, hundreds of executions, and the tightening of Nazi control.

6. 6. Blair House assassination attempt on Harry S. Truman (1950)

Two Puerto Rican nationalists, Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola, attempted to storm Blair House, where President Truman was staying during White House renovations. Intending to kill the president and draw attention to Puerto Rican independence, the attackers opened fire, killing one and wounding others, but Truman was not present in the immediate area and survived the incident. Collazo was wounded and later convicted, while Torresola was killed at the scene.

7. 7. John Hinckley Jr.’s attempt on Ronald Reagan (1981)

John Hinckley Jr. opened fire outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington after President Reagan left a speaking engagement, badly wounding Press Secretary James Brady and injuring others, while Reagan survived with a single bullet that ricocheted off the presidential limousine. The attempt was motivated by Hinckley’s delusional obsession with actress Jodie Foster, rather than a coherent political aim.

8. 8. Mehmet Ali Agca’s attempt on Pope John Paul II (1981)

In St. Peter’s Square, Mehmet Ali Agca fired at Pope John Paul II at close range, seriously wounding him but failing to kill him thanks to prompt medical care and the pope’s survival of critical injuries. Agca was immediately captured and later claimed a variety of motives and confessions, sparking international investigations and conspiracy theories about who might have been behind the attack.

9. 9. Petit-Clamart attack on Charles de Gaulle (1962)

Members of the French OAS, opposed to President Charles de Gaulle’s moves toward Algerian independence, ambushed de Gaulle’s motorcade near Petit-Clamart and riddled the vehicle with bullets, but the bulletproof car and evasive driving allowed de Gaulle and his wife to escape unharmed. The failed attempt failed to stop de Gaulle’s policy and led to a severe crackdown on the OAS and its network.

10. 10. Lynette Fromme’s attempt on Gerald Ford (1975)

Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, drew a pistol on President Gerald Ford in Sacramento and pointed it directly at him, but she did not fire when Secret Service agents intervened and disarmed her. Fromme’s motives mixed cult devotion and political grievances, and her capture prevented bloodshed and led to her conviction.

11. 11. Sara Jane Moore’s attempt on Gerald Ford (1975)

Just 17 days after Fromme’s attempt, Sara Jane Moore fired a pistol at President Ford in San Francisco, but a bystander, Oliver Sipple, struck her arm and caused the shot to miss the president. Moore was arrested and later sentenced to life in prison; her attempt revealed rising domestic political violence and the thin margin between life and death in public security lapses.

12. 12. Brighton hotel bombing, attempt on Margaret Thatcher (1984)

The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a bomb in the Grand Hotel in Brighton during the Conservative Party conference, intending to assassinate Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet while they stayed there. Thatcher and most of her ministers escaped because of last-minute changes and prompt evacuation, but five people were killed and many were injured.

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