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Martin Luther King Jr. - In 1968, the civil rights leader was shot in Memphis, Tennessee. The assassination led to a nationwide wave of riots.

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Anwar Al Sadat - In 1981, the President of Egypt was assassinated during a military parade in Cairo. Simultaneously, an insurrection was organized in Asyut. Rebels took control of the city and 68 policemen and soldiers were killed in the fighting

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Mahatma Gandhi - In 1948, the activist was getting ready to make a speech when he was shot in the chest three times. Some reports say he died in the scene, while claim he died in the hotel where he was taken.

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John Lennon - In 1980, Lennon was shot four times in the back while he was walking in New York City. Mark David Chapman was the killer.

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Rajiv Gandhi - In 1991, while campaigning, India's former-Prime Minister was greeted by a woman carrying a bomb, which exploded and killed them both. The attack was blamed on a militant organization from Sri Lanka. India had just ended its involvement in the Sri Lankan Civil War.

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John F. Kennedy - The 35th President of the United States was assassinated on 22 November 1963 in Dallas, Texas while riding in a presidential motorcade. Lee Harvey Oswald was convicted, but conspiracy theories persist to this day.

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Malcolm X - In 1965, the activist was shot by members of the Nation of Islam as he was preparing to make a speech. Conspiracy theories were also rampant after this assassination.

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Benazir Bhutto - In 2007, Pakistan's Prime Minister was shot as she exited a car at a political rally. She was hit in the neck and chest and died in hospital. Demonstrations took place throughout Pakistan and over 100 people died in related incidents.

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Robert F. Kennedy - Five years after his brother's murder, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated with two shots to the head. It happened during a presidential campaign event in Los Angeles, in 1968, after he took the lead in the primaries. As with his brother, his death was subject to widespread analysis.

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Yitzhak Rabin - In 1995, the Prime Minister of Israel was shot three times. The murderer was a right-wing extremist opposed to the Oslo Peace Accords. It was later revealed that the assassin was an agent-informer to the Israel Security Agency.

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Faisal of Saudi Arabia - On 25 March 1975, King Faisal was shot point-blank and killed by his half-brother's son, Prince Faisal bin Musaid. It is theorized that the prince was avenging the death of his brother.

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Alexander Litvinenko - In 2006, the former officer of the Russian secret service, who had taken refuge in the UK, felt ill and was taken to hospital. An investigation found that he was suffering from lethal polonium-210-induced acute radiation syndrome. Litvinekno accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of poisoning him. Subsequent investigations by British authorities into the circumstances of his death led to serious diplomatic difficulties between the British and Russian governments.

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Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria - In 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was shot dead when he was inside a car with his wife. This murder triggered the World War I.

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William McKinley - In 1901, the President of the United States was shot twice as he was making a speech. He died a few days later from his wounds. The aftermath of the assassination saw a backlash against anarchists and the introduction of the Secret Service guarding presidents.

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Indira Gandhi - In 1984, the Prime Minister of India was walking in a garden when two of her own bodyguards assassinated her. They were both sentenced to death. Thousands of Sikhs were killed in retaliatory violence.

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Alexander II of Russia - In 1881, the Emperor of Russia was a victim of a murder conspiracy. Members of a left-wing organization attacked him with bombs as he waited in his carriage. The assassination sparked major suppression of civil liberties.

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Abraham Lincoln - In 1865, the President of the United States was murdered. Actor John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln as part of a larger conspiracy intended to revive the Confederate cause.

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Reinhard Heydrich - In 1942, four members of the Czech military tried to kill the Nazi official (center, in the picture).He survived for a few days but ended up dying of septicemia. Hitler ordered brutal reprisals to the Czech people.

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James A. Garfield - In 1881, the President of the United States was shot twice in a train station less than four months into his term. He died of infections and internal bleeding. Garfield had called for civil service reform and after his death an act asserting that government positions should be awarded on the basis of merit instead of political affiliation was passed as something of a memorial.

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Liaquat Ali Khan - In 1951, Pakistan's Prime Minister was shot during a public meeting. The killer was shot dead immediately by police. The motive behind the assassination has never been fully revealed and a lot of speculation persists. In 2006, declassified documents shed light on US involvement in the assassination.

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