Charles J. Guiteau
Charles J. Guiteau | |
|---|---|
Guiteau in 1881 | |
| Born | September 8, 1841 Freeport, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | June 30, 1882 (aged 40) D.C. Jail, Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party |
|
| Criminal status | Executed by hanging |
| Spouse |
Annie Bunn
(m. 1869; div. 1874) |
| Motive | Mental illness; retribution for perceived failure to reward campaign support |
| Conviction | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | James A. Garfield |
| Date | July 2, 1881 |
| Locations | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Signature | |
Charles Julius Guiteau (/ɡɪˈtoʊ/ ghih-TOH; September 8, 1841 – June 30, 1882) was an American man who assassinated James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, in 1881. A mentally ill failed lawyer, Guiteau delusionally believed that he had played a major role in Garfield's election victory, for which he should have been rewarded with a consulship. Guiteau 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 79 days later from infections related to the wounds. In January 1882, Guiteau was sentenced to death for the crime and was hanged five months later.