Charles Julius Guiteau was an American man who assassinated James A. Garfield, president of the United States, in 1881. Guiteau falsely believed he had played a major role in Garfield's election victory, for which he should have been rewarded with a consulship. He felt frustrated and offended by the Garfield administration's rejections of his applications to serve in Vienna or Paris to such a degree that he decided to kill Garfield and shot him at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. Garfield died two months later from infections related to the wounds. In January 1882, Guiteau was sentenced to death for the crime and was hanged five months later.
Guiteau in 1881
President James A. Garfield with Secretary of State James G. Blaine after being shot by Guiteau, as depicted in a period engraving from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper.
A .44 British Bulldog revolver similar to the one Guiteau used to shoot Garfield
Path of the bullet that wounded President Garfield
Assassination of James A. Garfield
James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, was shot at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C., at 9:30 am on Saturday, July 2, 1881. He died in Elberon, New Jersey, two months later on September 19, 1881. The shooting occurred less than four months into his term as president. Charles J. Guiteau was convicted of Garfield's murder and executed by hanging one year after the shooting.
President Garfield with James G. Blaine after being shot by Charles J. Guiteau
James A. Garfield
Charles J. Guiteau, Garfield's assassin
A British Bulldog revolver similar to the one Guiteau used to shoot Garfield