27 of the Most Impactful Assassinations in History

‘Black cats just before the Bubonic Plague’
27 of the Most Impactful Assassinations in History
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When someone gets assassinated, people notice. They have to, for it to qualify as an assassination and all. If you assassinate someone, and no one realizes they’re dead? You kinda just killed a guy. Regular murder style.

If their death marks a clear turning point in our planet’s history, however? Absolutely, undeniably, an assassination. That person was definitely important. So what assassinations in history had the heaviest influence on the future?

Redditors have shared their grim nominations, and you can read on and think of what might have been — good or bad.

2y ago Alexander II of Russia's assassination was quite significant. Не was planning a Constitution, and his assassination prompted his son, Alexander III to introduce a wave of oppressive counter-reforms. Russia may not have been in the same position it was on the eve of the 20th century if he had been able to carry out his Constitution.
hielispace . 2y ago The murder of Archduke Ferdinand is probably the most impactful assassination in history. It is the one event the entire modern world can be tied back to in a direct link.
francisdavey 2y ago If li Naosuke had not been assassinated, his political skill and ruthlessness would have resulted in a Japan that modernised, but continued to be ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate; and a less imperial foreign policy. That would have changed the power structure of the second world war (more assertive Soviet Union, later or no American involvement). It would also have changed the power struggle in China, so that the Chinese would not have walked out on the Versailles Treaty and in turn Communism would not have gotten a hold there. Asia would be completely different.
AudibleNod 1.2y ago Julius Caesar
2y ago Hard to say, but | feel like Reconstruction would have gone down smoother if Abe Lincoln hadn't been assassinated. Grant tried his best, but between that fuckwit, Johnson, and the Compromise of 1877, Freedmen got screwed.
mattlodder . 2y ago The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 is perhaps the most politically significant assassination in recent decades.
doublestitch 2y ago Archimedes of Syracuse: one of the smartest minds in history was killed during the Roman conquest of Sicily. Archimedes of Syracuse V,a:rkz'mi:di:z/, ARK-ihm-EE-deez/211a] C. 287 - C. 212 BC) was an Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor.
_Ottir_ 2y ago Aurelian - in the 5 years he was Roman Emperor; he vanquished the Vandals, Juthungi and Sarmatians, defeated untold rebellions, annihilated the Goths, reabsorbed the Palmyrene and Gallic Empires, enacted numerous reforms and railed against internal corruption, created the first single faith system to unify all provinces and was due to embark on a campaign against a weakened Sassanid Empire (a campaign he likely would've won). His actions stabilised the Empire and directly contributed to another century of existence. Imagine what he could've achieved in 10 years. Or 20.
trigrhappy . 2y ago Kennedy wouldn't have gotten the U.S. involved in Vietnam, but his death ironically sped up the civil rights movement....... since being killed basically made a civil rights martyr out of him.
Iblisie . 2y ago Patrice Lumumba!
ChaoticGoku . 2y ago Black Cats just before the Bubonic Plague Had they not been assassinated because of their association to witches and being seen as evil at the time, the rodent population would have been minimized
rarebreed0735 . 2y ago Malcolm X (and MLK Jr.) It's not debatable that the FBI had a file for those two plus Mohamed Ali (Cassius Clay) as they were fearful for them bringing black people together in ways not seen before. Had they not been assassinated I truly believe the truth position of blacks in America today would be much different.
johndhall1130 . 2y ago Uh, Jesus.
ValdimirHarkonnen .2y ago The Romanovs
Me_like_weed 1.2y ago Hitlers assassination of Hitler
Roche77e . 2y ago What are the odds that RFK would have gotten the Democratic nomination and gone on to beat Nixon in 1968?
Carbonated-Man 2y ago More recent than a lot of the other assassinations mentioned here, but ...Back in 2011 NATO forces decided it was time Libya recieved a a good old military intervention. And somehow during the kerfuffle Muammar Gaddafi's convoy got hit while attempting to flee the area. This left him a sitting duck for the rebel forces of the National Liberation Army tto swoop in and shoot the crazy dictator dead. Then they pulled his body out of the vehicle and passed it around a cheering croud who took turns punching and stabbing at his corpse.
500Rtg . 2y ago Indira Gandhi Led to Anti Sikh riots, resulting in around 3K deaths and a crackdown on separatists. Resulted in peace being restored later.
dating_derp . 2y ago Martin Luther King Jr and Fred Hampton. The civil rights movement could have gone a lot farther had its leaders not been either killed, imprisoned, or driven out of the country.
ya_boiii_nightmare . 2y ago i i swear to god i hope I . no one says franz fer- goddamnit they've done it already. guys, his death was a short-term cause of ww1. that shit would have kicked off within a few months no matter what.
throway_nonjw . 2y ago I think... all of them. They usually take place at a time of great turmoil, and can be the inciting incident.
scott42486 . 2y ago If you believe it was an assassination: George Patton. Guy would've been a very electable president at the time if he wanted to. More importantly, he likely would've been able to push the US into a direct war in Russia rather than the Cold War occurring.
Mysterious_Lesions 2y ago The CIA assassination of Iran's Mossadegh to put in the Shah later led to the Iranian Revolution blowback which led to the nuclearization of the country. Iran became the behind the scenes power behind many middle Eastern conflicts.
TayElectornica 2y ago Th assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana, president of Rwanda. His assassination was the start of the Rwandan genocide which killed about 1 million people in 100 days. However, the end of the Rwandan genocide is also start of the second Congo war / or the central African war which has caused the death of over 5 million is some would argue still lingers today. It caused one of the largest refugee situations in the world also.
Captain_-H 2y ago I would say Jack Ruby killing Oswald. Lee Harvey Oswald spent time in Russia and was clearly influenced by Russian propaganda. Oswald spent time at Ruby's strip cubs and they clearly knew each other. Who knows what the real story is, but the point is because of this murder we won't ever know. There was a motive, there were others involved, and if there had been a trial that made those trips to Russia the focus the Cold War could have turned into a hot war pretty fast
renro 2y ago McKinley. I don't think Teddy Roosevelt ever wins in the fucked up 19th century climate, but after McKinley dies and goes to hell Roosevelt is able to demonstrate the value of Progressivism and that is the beginning of the American Century and everything we know about the government's role in economic outcomes
UnholyDemigod • 2y ago Phillip II of Macedon. Assassinated by one of his bodyguards. His son took the throne at age 19, and within 10 years had done enough to become one of the most influential figures in human history - Alexander the Great

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