The Umbrella Assassin

September 7, 1978 – Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian dissident living in London, was assassinated by Bulgarian secret police while waiting at a bus stop near the Waterloo Bridge. Markov originally worked as a playwright and novelist before defecting from Bulgaria in 1969. He then moved to London where he took a job with the BBC as a broadcaster and journalist. He frequently criticized the Bulgarian regime over the radio, inciting members of the Bulgarian government to dispose of him. As Markov stood at the bus stop on the morning of September 7 he described feeling a slight sharp pain, similar to a bee sting, on the back of his right thigh. He turned to see a man behind him picking an umbrella up off the ground. The man then hurried across the street and got in a waiting taxi. By the time Markov arrived at work a red pimple had formed at the site of the “sting” and within a few hours he had developed a fever. He was admitted to the hospital that evening and died three days later. A subsequent autopsy revealed that the cause of death was poisoning from ricin-filled pellet the size of a pinhead shot into Markov’s leg by means of a specialized umbrella gun.

For Anarchy's Sake

September 6, 1901 – Leon Czolgosz shot President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Czolgosz was heavily influenced by the anarchist movement, and it is believed he modeled his crime after the assassination of King Umberto I of Italy by anarchist Gaetano Bresci one year earlier. The assassination took place inside the Temple of Music, where President McKinley was greeting guests in a receiving line. At approximately 4:07 p.m. Czolgosz reached the front of the line. When the President extended his hand, Czolgosz slapped it away and fired two shots into the President’s abdomen at point blank range. President McKinley survived for eight days before succumbing to the wounds. Czolgosz was immediately seized by the crowd before members of the National Guard and the police intervened and beat him so severely it was thought he might not survive. Czolgosz’s trial began 17 days after the shooting on September 23. However, Czolgosz refused to speak to his court appointed attorneys and remained silent throughout the trial. Because of his lack of cooperation Czolgosz’s attorneys were unable to offer a defense, and instead hoped the jury would accept an insanity plea. In the end Czolgosz was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. He was executed on October 29, 1901, less than two months after committing his crime.

A Shot at Ford

September 5, 1975 - Lynette Fromme, a member of the Manson Family, was arrested for the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford. Ford had just delivered a speech at the California State Capitol in Sacramento and was shaking hands with the crowd gathered outside, when Fromme approached and pointed a Colt .45 pistol at him. Secret Service Agent Larry Buendorf immediately stepped between the President and Fromme, yelled “Gun!” and wrestled Fromme to the ground. Fromme later insisted that she only wanted to draw attention to the plight of the California Redwoods, and that she had no intention of shooting the President. Although investigators found four rounds in the magazine there was no bullet in the firing chamber of the pistol. Fromme was convicted under a 1965 law that made attempted presidential assassinations a federal offense. She was sentenced to life in prison. After serving 34 years in custody, she was released from prison on August 14, 2009. Only 17 days after Fromme’s assassination attempt, Sara Jane Moore attempted to assassinate President Ford in San Francisco, firing a shot that missed his head only by inches before being tackled by a bystander.