Presidential Assassinations-by Historyguy.com

An Englishman named Richard Lawrence attempted to shoot President Jackson at the U.S. Capitol Building as Jackson was leaving the funeral of South Carolina's House Representative Warren R. Davis. The attacker's two pistols misfired (possibly due to damp gunpowder), and he was then attacked by the enraged 67 year-old President. Jackson was not harmed.

The 16th President, was assassinated in 1865. Lincoln was the first of four presidents to be assassinated. Lincoln was the first Republican president, and of course, the president who preserved the Union in the Civil War and who created the Emancipation Proclamation. He was killed by John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor and known Confederate sympathizer. He was shot in the head while attending a play at Ford's Theater in the evening of April 14, 1865, and died the next morning, on April 15, 1865. Lincoln was succeeded by Vice-President Andrew Johnson.

James Garfield--The 20th President, who was assassinated in 1881. Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau, a disgruntled office seeker, at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. on July 2, 1881.
Guiteau had supported Garfield in the election, and he believed that his work in the campaign justified him being appointed as American consul in Paris, France. This despite the fact that he was unqualified for the job and did not speak French. Guiteau convinced himself that he was turned down because he was a member of the faction of the Republican Party known as the Stalwarts, and that Garfield had betrayed him because for political reasons.
After shooting Garfield, Guiteau was taken into custody and readily admitted and detailed his whole assassination plot and reasoning for killing Garfield. The president lingered on for twelve weeks, finally dying of his wounds on September 19, 1881. Modern doctors believe that had Garfield's doctors had access to modern medical procedures and equipment, he likely would have survived his wounds. Garfield was succeeded by Vice-President Chester Arthur.

William McKinley--The 25th President, who was assassinated 1901. McKinley was visiting the the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York on September 6, 1901 when he was shot twice in the abdomen by Leon Frank Czolgosz, an avowed Anarchist. Believing that the poor and the working class were being kept down by the existing political and economic system, Czolgosz believed that killing the president would advance the causes of socialism and anarchism. He was inspired by the recent assassination of Italy's King, Umberto I, who was also killed by an anarchist.

At this point in time, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was a former president who was a third-party candidate in the 1912 Presidential election. While giving a speech in Milwaukee, Roosevelt was shot by John Schrank. Roosevelt survived his wounds, even giving his speech before going to a hospital.

Anarchist Giuseppe Zangara shot at President-Elect Franklin Roosevelt only 17 days before his inauguration. The killer missed FDR, instead killing Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak and a bystander. Roosevelt was unharmed.

On November 1, 1950, Puerto Rican nationalists Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola attacked the Blair House, where Truman lived while the White House was being renovated. The two attackers. Torresola died in the attack, as did one of the police officers guarding Truman. Three other officers were wounded, as was Collazzo. The Secret Service describes this event as the biggest shootout in Secret Service history. Truman, who was taking a nap on the second floor of Blair House, was unharmed, despite the fact that he looked out the window during the shooting.

John F. Kennedy-The 35th President, who was assassinated on November 22, 1963. He was shot and killed while in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. His assassin was Lee Harvey Oswald, a known sympathizer of the communist regime of Fidel Castro in Cuba. Kennedy was succeeded by Vice-President Lyndon Johnson.

Kennedy is the last president to die in office.

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a member of the Manson Family (as in Charles Manson), attempted to shoot Ford as he shook hands in Sacramento, California. Fromme's handgun misfired, and she was arrested. Ford was not injured.

Sara Jane Moore shot at President Ford on a street in San Francisco. Her own gun had been confiscated by police the day before, and this assassination attempt was with a new gun she was not familiar with. She barely missed Ford. It is believed that had she used the gun she was familiar with, she would have shot, and probably killed Ford. President Ford was uninjured.