Assassins and the 10 Most Famous Assassinations Quiz / Test | People

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1. April 15, 1865, the target was Lincoln, and the place was Ford's Theater. The assassin escaped out the back with a broken leg. Who killed Lincoln?

Answer: John Wilkes Booth

On the day of the assassination Booth met with Herold, Powell, and Atzerodt and the four men headed their separate ways to their targets. Booth would kill Lincoln, his guards, and Grant, Herold and Powell would target Seward and John C. Calhoun who were at the same house, and Atzerodt would head to the hotel to kill Johnson. Of all the assassins Booth was the only one who succeeded. Unbeknown to Booth there was a switch and Henry Rathbone entered the box in Grant's place. Booth entered the box and shot Lincoln dead and stabbed Rathbone with his bowie knife. Booth then jumped to the stage raised his knife and shouted "Sic Semper Tyrannis" which is the motto of Virginia and translates to "Death to All Tyrants". Booth then met up with Herold and they escaped into the night and met up with the Surratt's and Dr. Mudd before the conspirators were caught in a tobacco warehouse and arrested. Booth would die of his wounds and his last words were "Useless".

Herold and Powell arrived at Seward's house pretending to be messengers. Powell forced open the door and stabbed Seward in his bed slashing his face. Seward survived the attack, saved by a neck brace. Atzerodt chickened out and instead of killing Johnson he went to the bar. Hours later Atzerodt came out tossed the knife into the bushes and he went to the Pennsylvania House Hotel a block from the White House entered a vacant room and passed out. Later the conspirators were caught and Herold, Powell, Atzerodt, Mary Surratt, Dr. Mudd, and three others were hanged for the murder of President Lincoln.

2. July 2, 1881, the location was Baltimore and Potomac Station, and the target was James Garfield. The assassin was arrested by secret service minutes after the president was shot. Who killed Garfield?

Answer: Charles Guiteau

Charles Guiteau was hired by the New York Customs House which at the time was part of the Cabinet. Guiteau wanted a job as an ambassador but was rejected because he was insane. With Conkling's backing Guiteau made his move to kill Garfield and replace him with Chester Arthur. On the night of the assassination Garfield entered the station and Guiteau put a gun into his back and shot him. Garfield did not die immediately, but he did a many days later. Guiteau was arrested by secret service and as they were taking him to jail he ranted, "I did it. Garfield is dead, and I want to be arrested. I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts. Chester Arthur is now the president." Later Guiteau was hanged for his crimes.

3. December 8, 1980 the location was The Dakota Building in Central Park in New York, and the target was John Lennon the leader of the Beatles. The assassin was arrested by NYPD park police minutes after the shooting sitting on a bench and reading 'Catcher in the Rye'. Who killed Lennon?

Answer: Mark Chapman

Chapman was a deranged fan of the Beatles and thought he was the protagonist of 'Catcher in the Rye'. Chapman stalked Lennon and got his autograph. That night Chapman entered Central Park and followed Lennon to the gates which lead to the street and the Dakota Apartments. Chapman pulled the gun out and shot Lennon as he exited his limo, then he escaped to the park and sat down on the bench and waited for the cops.

He is now in prison at the Wende Correctional Facility in Buffalo.

4. October 6, 1981, location Presidential Palace in Cairo,and the target was Anwar Sadat. Five men would shoot the president dead, and place power hungry dictator Mubarak in power. One was shot by security forces, four were jailed, and one was released by Mubarak and is still at large. Who killed Sadat?

Answer: Islamic Jihad

Sadat was murdered by members of Islamic Jihad which is a cell that now works for Al Qaeda. The six men responsible were Omar Rahman, Ayman Zawahri, Khalid Islambouli, and three others used as muscle. On the day of the assassination Islambouli and his men impersonated Egyptian Army personal and drove their truck in the parade. Islambouli stopped the truck his men got out Islambouli saluted his commander in chief and shouted in Arabic "Ready Aim FIRE!" Sadat was shot dead, and secret service fired back. Islambouli was shot by secret service and the three others were arrested and later given the firing squad. Zawahri and Rahman were pardoned by Mubarak and went on the run with other Al Qaeda members before meeting Bin Laden himself. Rahman was arrested for blowing up the World Trade Center and Zawahri is still at large.

5. March 30, 1981, location Washington Hilton, and the targets were Reagan, Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and DC Police officer Thomas Delahanty. The suspect fired six shots before he was arrested, one of them was fatal and would be stuck in Brady's brain for the rest of his life. Who was the assassin?

Answer: John Hinckley Jr.

Hinckley was a deranged lunatic. He wanted to date and sleep with Jodie Foster and said if he killed his targets she would be impressed. Jodie rejected his love and sent all his letters unopened to the FBI. Hinckley then went to Dallas and bought his gun at the same pawn shop that sold the murder weapons to Charles Whitman and Lee Harvey Oswald before they did their assassinations. Hinckley waited outside the Hilton behind the inner circle checkpoint as Reagan gave his speech.

He talked to the CBS reporter and told her to call out to Reagan. Sure enough Reagan, Brady, Delahanty, and McCarthy came out, and the CBS reporter did call out to Reagan; this was Hinckley's signal to start shooting. Hinckley shot Brady first.

He went down and the bullet lodged in his brain where it would remain for almost three decades. Next he shot Delahanty.

The bullet grazed his neck. The third shot missed and hit the apartment building across the street just as Mrs. Parr came out. The fourth shot hit McCarthy as he turned to protect Reagan and grazed his belly.

The fifth hit the Presidential State Car known as The Beast and bounced off, and the sixth and final bullet hit Reagan and he did not know he was hit until he was halfway to George Washington Hospital. Hinckley was immediately arrested and sent the crazy house. After three decades with the bullet inside his brain Brady died in 2014 and his death was ruled a homicide connected to the assassination.

6. August 6, 1966, the location Austin Texas, and the targets were civilians in the street. The assassin was on the roof of the Texas Tower shooting at people below and it took 90 minutes for SWAT to bring him down. Who is the Texas Tower Sniper?

Answer: Charles Whitman

Whitman was a broken marine who just went through a bad marriage and the divorce of his parents. Whitman was kicked out of the Marines because he had a brain tumor that was terminal. Because of these factors Whitman decided to kill those close to him, kill as many people as possible, and take his own life. Whitman climbed to the top of the Texas Tower and started shooting people in the street. 17 people died and 31 were injured before SWAT got into the tower and brought him down.

7. November 22, 1963, the location Dallas Texas, and the target was President Kennedy. The assassin was on the sixth floor of the Texas Schoolbook Depository Building, and fired three shots all of which hit Kennedy. Who killed Kennedy?

Answer: Lee Harvey Oswald

Oswald is the most notorious of all the assassins, and the most controversial. Conspiracy theories state that Oswald did not work alone, and that he had a team with him. All of these theories have since been proven false. After Oswald killed Kennedy he ran into a packed theater and was arrested. Two days later Oswald was in the process of being transferred to the FBI when Dallas nightclub owner and mafia boss Jack Ruby came into police headquarters and shot him dead. Ruby was arrested and he died in prison.

8. January 8, 2011, the location Safeway in Tucson, and the target was Gabby Giffords, US Representative 8th District of Arizona. The assassin fired at Giffords, a Maricopa county judge, two of her aides, a 9 year old girl, three civilians, and her chief of staff before he shot 14 people and was arrested. Who shot Gabby Giffords?

Answer: Jared Lee Loughner

Loughner was an insane lunatic. A graphic by Sarah Palin on Fox gave him the idea to plan the assassination. Palin has since deleted the graphic and publicly stated that she had no part in the assassination. On November 30, 2010 Loughner bought the gun at Sportsman's and waited until the day of the attack. On the day of the shooting Loughner bought the ammo at Walmart and started firing at Giffords and her party. Gabby went down first a direct bullet to the head and unlike Brady she survived and the bullet was removed, next hit was Maricopa County Judge John Roll who died immediately, and after the judge died Loughner shot Green who died in the hospital and three civilians before he shot all the members of Gabby's staff and killed her chief of staff.

In the rampage 6 people were dead and 14 were wounded before Loughner was arrested and sentenced to life in prison without parole on 7 counts of assassination of a politician and 140 years to life for shooting civilians.

9. April 4, 1968, location Lorraine Motel in Memphis, and the target was Martin Luther King. The assassin was sitting in a bathtub at a boarding house across the street and fired a single kill shot that hit King and knocked him backwards onto balcony. Who killed Martin Luther King?

Answer: James Earl Ray

James Earl Ray had a history of prison time and escapes before he shot King. Evidence also shows he may have had ties to the KKK and Neo-Nazis. Four days before the shooting he bought the gun and read King's schedule before he went to Memphis. On the day of the shooting Ray sat in the bathtub and pointed the scope out the window and fired a kill shot that hit King in the neck and knocked him backwards onto the balcony. Ray immediately fled to Atlanta, booked a flight to Toronto, flew to Portugal, and escaped to Heathrow (London) before he was arrested and extradited back to the United States. Ray was sentenced to 99 years in prison, but he busted out in 1977 and the US Marshals immediately arrested him after a lengthy manhunt and sentenced him to 100 years for escape. Ray died in 1998 of a Hep B blood infection.

10. June 5, 1968, location Ambassador Hotel in LA, and the target was Bobby Kennedy, US Attorney General, presidential candidate, and brother of JFK. The assassin shot him in the gut while Kennedy was making his way through the kitchen. Who killed Bobby Kennedy?

Answer: Sirhan Sirhan

Sirhan was a Palestinian with ties to the terrorist group Hamas. Kennedy said some things about Hamas in a debate which prompted them to send an assassin to kill Kennedy and defend their leader. On the day of the shooting Sirhan impersonated a waiter and hid in the kitchen waiting for Kennedy to arrive. Kennedy was blocked by fans, protesters, supporters, and members of the press.

A staffer told him to head into the kitchen to get around them to head to the press area and out. When Kennedy entered the kitchen Sirhan came out from under the table took off his hat and pointed the gun and fired 4 shots before he was subdued.

He was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Bobby Kennedy.

Source: Author mashfan105

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Questions		Choices
1. April 15, 1865, the target was Lincoln, and the place was Ford's Theater. The assassin escaped out the back with a broken leg. Who killed Lincoln?		James Earl Ray
2. July 2, 1881, the location was Baltimore and Potomac Station, and the target was James Garfield. The assassin was arrested by secret service minutes after the president was shot. Who killed Garfield?		Islamic Jihad
3. December 8, 1980 the location was The Dakota Building in Central Park in New York, and the target was John Lennon the leader of the Beatles. The assassin was arrested by NYPD park police minutes after the shooting sitting on a bench and reading 'Catcher in the Rye'. Who killed Lennon?		John Hinckley Jr.
4. October 6, 1981, location Presidential Palace in Cairo,and the target was Anwar Sadat. Five men would shoot the president dead, and place power hungry dictator Mubarak in power. One was shot by security forces, four were jailed, and one was released by Mubarak and is still at large. Who killed Sadat?		Mark Chapman
5. March 30, 1981, location Washington Hilton, and the targets were Reagan, Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and DC Police officer Thomas Delahanty. The suspect fired six shots before he was arrested, one of them was fatal and would be stuck in Brady's brain for the rest of his life. Who was the assassin?		Charles Guiteau
6. August 6, 1966, the location Austin Texas, and the targets were civilians in the street. The assassin was on the roof of the Texas Tower shooting at people below and it took 90 minutes for SWAT to bring him down. Who is the Texas Tower Sniper?		Jared Lee Loughner
7. November 22, 1963, the location Dallas Texas, and the target was President Kennedy. The assassin was on the sixth floor of the Texas Schoolbook Depository Building, and fired three shots all of which hit Kennedy. Who killed Kennedy?		Lee Harvey Oswald
8. January 8, 2011, the location Safeway in Tucson, and the target was Gabby Giffords, US Representative 8th District of Arizona. The assassin fired at Giffords, a Maricopa county judge, two of her aides, a 9 year old girl, three civilians, and her chief of staff before he shot 14 people and was arrested. Who shot Gabby Giffords?		John Wilkes Booth
9. April 4, 1968, location Lorraine Motel in Memphis, and the target was Martin Luther King. The assassin was sitting in a bathtub at a boarding house across the street and fired a single kill shot that hit King and knocked him backwards onto balcony. Who killed Martin Luther King?		Charles Whitman
10. June 5, 1968, location Ambassador Hotel in LA, and the target was Bobby Kennedy, US Attorney General, presidential candidate, and brother of JFK. The assassin shot him in the gut while Kennedy was making his way through the kitchen. Who killed Bobby Kennedy?		Sirhan Sirhan

Assassins and the 10 Most Famous Assassinations Quiz

In the history of the world many people have been assassinated. Match the assassin with the target and I will give you a historical background on why they did it.