Some assassinations in history that shook the world

31st of December 2021

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Assassination has always been a part of human history from the early political days. So many human right activists and political leaders have been assassinated either because they had a lot of enemies or their idea was simply beyond the understanding of their opposes. Below is a list of some important people in history who were assassinated while in their fight for human freedoms and liberty.

1. Ngo Dinh Diem

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As the first president of South Vietnam, Diem was steadfastly anti-communist, this earned him United States support. However when the U.S. discovered Zine was massacring Buddhists he lost that support, he was captured and assassinated on November 2nd 1963 during a coup d’état in what proved to be a turning point in the Vietnam War. More Information

2. Harvey Milk

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Harvey Milk was the first openly gay elected official in California and that's why some consider his death a hate crime. However, Dan White apparently pulled the trigger on Milk on November 27th 1978 because of a work dispute.

Dianne Feinstein announced the murders to a stunned public stating; “As president of the board of supervisors, it is my duty to make this announcement both mayor Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed”. source

Riots erupted when White was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter due to diminished capacity and a great period of upheaval continued.

Harvey Milk

3. Anwar Sadat

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Anwar Sadat won a Nobel Peace Prize for helping to broker the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, but that accord was controversial among Arab countries.

During a celebration in Cairo on October 6, 1981, Sadat was shot and killed because of it by a group that included Khalid Islambouli and some of Sadat's own soldiers. Middle East diplomacy was never the same afterwards.

Anwar's nephew Talaat El Sadat later said, "The president thought the killers were part of the show when they approached the stands firing, so he stood saluting them". Assassination of Anwar Sadat

4. Mahatma Gandhi

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Mahatma Gandhi spent his life as a symbol of peace but on January 30th 1948 he died as a victim of violence. After multiple assassination attempts against Gandhi, it was Hindu extremists Nathuram Godse who fired the fatal shots.

Following his death Gandhi's teachings served as inspiration for future activists like Martin Luther King jr. to use non-violence as a means to an end.

Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi

5. Martin Luther King jr.

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As he spoke to a crowd in Memphis Tennessee on April 3rd 1968, it seemed that Dr. King knew what was coming. His words were; “I may not get that with you but I want you to know the night that we ever people will get to the promised land”.

The next day the civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner was shot and killed by James Earl Ray as he stood on the balcony of his hotel room. King's death widened the gap between whites and blacks caused riots and spurred the expansion of radical African-American movements like the Black Panthers. source

This list is subjective and is simply written based on research and is not a depiction of accuracy in history events. There are many more assassinations in history that shook the world. I kept this list short by ommiting certain events such as the assassination of J.F Kennedy, Muritala Mohammed, Malcolm X, and many more.

All images used are cited above