It is a heavy, sobering list. When you start looking into which presidents have been shot, you realize that American history is a lot more violent than the textbooks usually let on. We aren't just talking about the famous tragedies everyone learns in fifth grade. There is a long, dark thread of lead and gunpowder that connects the White House to the streets of Dallas, a theater in D.C., and even a train station. It’s a miracle the list isn't longer.
Honestly, the survival rate for a U.S. President used to be a bit of a coin flip. Before the Secret Service was officially tasked with protecting the Commander-in-Chief in 1901, these guys were basically sitting ducks. They walked to church. They greeted strangers in hallways. They stood on open platforms. It was a different world, and that accessibility came with a staggering price.
The Four Who Didn't Make It
Four names are etched into the national psyche because they didn't survive the attack. Most people know Lincoln and Kennedy, but the middle two often get lost in the shuffle of 19th-century facial hair and forgotten policies.
Abraham Lincoln was the first. April 14, 1865. John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor who probably would’ve been a household name today for better reasons, stepped into the presidential box at Ford’s Theatre. He used a .44-caliber single-shot derringer. One shot to the back of the head changed the entire trajectory of Reconstruction. It’s wild to think that Lincoln’s own bodyguard had left his post to go get a drink at the saloon next door.
Then you have James A. Garfield. This one is arguably the most tragic because the bullet didn't actually kill him—the doctors did. In July 1881, Charles Guiteau shot Garfield at a Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station in Washington. The bullet lodged in his back. For eighty days, doctors poked and prodded his wound with unwashed fingers and dirty instruments, trying to find the slug. They even brought in Alexander Graham Bell to use a makeshift metal detector, but it failed because Garfield was lying on a bed with metal springs (a new invention at the time). He died of a massive infection. Basically, modern hygiene would have saved his life.
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William McKinley follows him in 1901. Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, hid a revolver under a handkerchief and shot McKinley twice at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. One bullet glanced off a button; the other tore through his stomach. McKinley actually seemed like he was recovering, but gangrene set in. His death is what finally forced Congress to make the Secret Service a permanent protective detail.
Finally, there’s John F. Kennedy. November 22, 1963. The Zapruder film. Dealey Plaza. We’ve all seen the footage. Lee Harvey Oswald fired from the Texas School Book Depository, hitting JFK in the neck and head. It remains the most dissected, debated, and theorized moment in American political history.
The Survivors: When the Bullet Missed the Mark
Not every shooter succeeded. In fact, some of the stories of survival are almost hard to believe. They sound like something out of a bad action movie, but they happened.
Take Teddy Roosevelt. In 1912, he was running for a third term under the "Bull Moose" ticket. A guy named John Schrank shot him in the chest while he was getting into a car in Milwaukee. Did Teddy go to the hospital? Nope. He realized he wasn't coughing up blood, which meant the bullet hadn't hit his lung. He went on stage and gave a 90-minute speech. The bullet had been slowed down by a steel eyeglass case and a thick, 50-page manuscript of his speech tucked in his pocket. He literally carried that bullet in his chest for the rest of his life.
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Ronald Reagan is the other major survivor of a direct hit. In 1981, John Hinckley Jr. fired six shots outside the Washington Hilton. A .22 caliber bullet ricocheted off the side of the presidential limousine and hit Reagan under the left arm, grazing a rib and lodging in his lung. He was inches from death. Reagan’s humor in the face of it is legendary—he reportedly told the surgeons, "I hope you are all Republicans."
And then there is the most recent entry. On July 13, 2024, during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump was shot in the right ear. The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired from a nearby rooftop. It was a terrifyingly close call that once again put the Secret Service under a microscope. Trump survived with a minor wound, but the event sent shockwaves through a country already on edge.
Close Calls and Bizarre Attempts
If we only look at which presidents have been shot, we miss the "almosts." There are dozens of instances where the trigger was pulled, but the gun jammed, or the shooter was tackled.
- Andrew Jackson: A house painter named Richard Lawrence tried to shoot him with two different pistols in 1835. Both misfired. Jackson, who was 67 at the time, proceeded to beat the man with his cane until his aides pulled him off.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt: In 1933, Giuseppe Zangara fired five shots at FDR in Miami. He missed the president-elect but fatally wounded the Mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak.
- Harry Truman: Two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to storm Blair House in 1950. A violent gunfight broke out at the front door. Truman wasn't "shot," but he was yards away from the exchange.
- Gerald Ford: He survived two attempts in the same month (September 1975). Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme pulled a gun but hadn't chambered a round. Sara Jane Moore actually fired a shot, but a bystander named Oliver Sipple grabbed her arm, causing her to miss.
Why Does This Keep Happening?
Psychologists and historians have spent decades looking for a pattern. Is it political? Sometimes. Booth was a Confederate sympathizer. Czolgosz was an anarchist. But often, it's just a broken person looking for a twisted kind of fame. Hinckley shot Reagan because he was obsessed with actress Jodie Foster and thought it would impress her. Guiteau shot Garfield because he was denied a federal job he thought he deserved.
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The Secret Service has evolved from a small group of treasury agents chasing counterfeiters into a high-tech fortress. They use "the bubble"—a perimeter of physical, electronic, and human surveillance. Yet, as Butler showed us, no system is perfect. Human error, line-of-sight gaps, and the sheer openness of American campaigning make it an impossible job.
We often think of these events as "historical," but they are visceral reminders of the vulnerability of power. Every time a president steps out in public, there is a silent, invisible war being waged by security teams to ensure they don't end up on this list.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs and Citizens
Understanding the history of presidential violence isn't just about trivia. It’s about understanding the security of our republic. If you want to dive deeper into this or see these locations for yourself, here is how to engage with the history responsibly:
- Visit the National Museum of Health and Medicine: Located in Silver Spring, Maryland, this museum actually houses the bullet that killed Lincoln and the lead fragments from Garfield’s spine. It’s a sobering look at the medical side of these events.
- Study the Warren Commission vs. the HSCA: If you're interested in JFK, don't just watch YouTube documentaries. Read the 1964 Warren Commission Report and compare it to the 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) report, which suggested a "high probability" of two gunmen.
- Read "Destiny of the Republic" by Candice Millard: This is arguably the best book ever written on the Garfield assassination. It explains the medical malpractice and the weirdness of the era in a way that feels like a thriller.
- Monitor Secret Service Reform: Following the 2024 attempt on Donald Trump, there are ongoing congressional hearings regarding security protocols. Pay attention to how the agency changes its "open-air" rally procedures, as this will dictate how future candidates interact with voters.
- Support Local Preservation: Sites like the Petersen House (where Lincoln died) or the Texas School Book Depository (Sixth Floor Museum) rely on public interest to maintain these historical records. Visiting them provides a scale and perspective you can't get from a screen.
History has a way of repeating itself when we stop paying attention to the cracks in the system. Knowing the names of those who were shot is the first step in understanding the gravity of the office they held.