Infamous Assassinations
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Infamous Assassinations was a 2007 British documentary television series about high-profile murders and attempted murders of public figures. The series was narrated by actor Robert Powell. It is currently being shown on Yesterday.
Episode 1: Ernst Röhm[]
On 1 July 1934 in Munich, the SA leader Röhm was killed on Adolf Hitler's orders, shortly after many other Nazis were also killed on Hitler's orders, on what became known as the Night of the Long Knives. Hitler ordered the killings to prevent any rivals within his party from gaining more power than he was comfortable with.
Episode 2: Che Guevara[]
On 9 October 1967 in La Higuera, Bolivia, Argentine communist guerrilla leader Guevara was shot dead by the Bolivian army.
Episode 3: Princess Anne[]
On 20 March 1974 in central London, a gunman attempted to kidnap The Queen's daughter, believing he could receive a multi-million pound ransom by doing so.
Episode 4: Anwar Sadat[]
On 6 October 1981 in Cairo, Egyptian President Sadat was shot dead by Islamic extremist soldiers.
Episode 5: Lord Mountbatten[]
On 27 August 1979 in County Sligo, Republic of Ireland, Prince Philip's uncle Louis Mountbatten was killed by an IRA bomb.
Episode 6: Ronald Reagan[]
On 30 March 1981 in Washington D.C., John Hinckley, Jr. shot US President Reagan, wrongly believing that doing so would make actress Jodie Foster love him.
Episode 7: John Lennon[]
On 8 December 1980, in New York City, Mark David Chapman shot dead pop star Lennon. His motive was that he felt Lennon was a hypocrite for espousing universal brotherhood, whilst at the same time being a multi-millionaire enjoying a lavish lifestyle far beyond the reach of the large majority of people.
Episode 8: Michael Collins[]
On 22 August 1922 in County Cork, Ireland, Irish nationalist leader who fought for Irish independence was shot dead by Anti-Treaty IRA gunmen as they believe he betrayed the Irish Republic.
Episode 9: Leon Trotsky[]
On 21 August 1940 in Mexico City, Bolshevik leader Trotsky was killed with a mountaineering ice axe by Ramón Mercader, on the orders of Joseph Stalin.
Episode 10: Charles de Gaulle[]
Attempts to kill French President de Gaulle.
Episode 11: Pope John Paul II[]
On 13 May 1981 in Vatican City, Turkish nationalist Mehmet Ali Ağca shot the Pope for reasons that still remain unclear and disputed.
Episode 12: Adolf Hitler[]
On 20 July 1944 in Rastenburg, Germany, a bomb was planted with the intention of killing the Nazi dictator, but he was only slightly injured. Hitler had many people who were involved in the plot killed soon after.
Episode 13: Wladyslaw Sikorski[]
On 4 July 1943 in Gibraltar, Polish leader Władysław Sikorski was killed when the plane he was travelling in crashed. Although the crash was declared to be an accident, that ruling is disputed.
Episode 14: Robert F. Kennedy[]
On 5 June 1968 in Los Angeles, Palestinian immigrant Sirhan Sirhan shot Senator Kennedy, who died from his wounds the following day.
Episode 15: William McKinley[]
On 6 September 1901 in Buffalo, New York, Polish-American anarchist Leon Czolgosz shot US President McKinley, who died as a result 8 days later.
Episode 16: Mahatma Gandhi[]
On 30 January 1948 in Delhi, India, Gandhi was shot dead by Nathuram Godse.
Episode 17: Reinhard Heydrich[]
On 27 May 1942 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, SS General Heydrich was killed by a grenade thrown by Czech resistance fighters Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabcik. Heydrich died of his injuries on 4 June 1942.
Episode 18: Martin Luther King[]
On 4 April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, black civil rights leader King was shot dead by James Earl Ray, an escaped convict.
Episode 19: Yitzhak Rabin[]
On 4 November 1995 in Tel Aviv, Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Rabin was shot dead by right-wing Israeli Jew Yigal Amir. Amir considered Rabin to be a traitor for doing deals with the Palestinians.
Episode 20: Tsar Nicholas II[]
On 17 July 1918 in Ekaterinburg, Russia, Bolsheviks shot dead the tsar, his wife, and their five children; then buried them in a wood.
Episode 21: Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq[]
On 17 August 1988 in Pakistan, Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq died in a plane crash, along with the US Ambassador and several high-ranking military officials. It was ruled an accident, but there are many conspiracy theories about the death of Zia-ul-Haq.
Episode 22: Alexander I of Yugoslavia[]
On 9 October 1934 in Marseille, France, Yugoslav King Alexander was shot dead by Vlado Chernozemski, a Bulgarian nationalist. The episode seriously lacks factual accuracy in multiple occasions, e.g. claiming that Bulgaria was a Muslim country etc. and speaker seriously mispronounces most of the names and titles.
Episode 23: Hendrik Verwoerd[]
On 6 September 1966 in Cape Town, South Africa, South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd was stabbed to death by Dimitri Tsafendas.
Episode 24: Franz Ferdinand[]
On 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand was shot dead by Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip.
Episode 25: Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi[]
On 31 October 1984 in New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister I. Gandhi was shot dead by her Sikh bodyguards. Almost 7 years later, her son R. Gandhi was killed by a Tamil suicide bomber.
Episode 26: John F. Kennedy[]
On 22 November 1963 in Dallas, Texas, US President Kennedy was shot dead by Lee Harvey Oswald.
External links[]
- 2007 British television series debuts
- 2000s British documentary television series
- British documentary television series
- Cultural depictions of Alexander I of Yugoslavia
- Cultural depictions of John F. Kennedy
- Cultural depictions of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
- Cultural depictions of Gavrilo Princip
- Cultural depictions of Martin Luther King Jr.
- Cultural depictions of Mahatma Gandhi
- Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler
- Cultural depictions of Pope John Paul II