The Assassination of Chicago’s Mayor

On February 15, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt, then president-elect of the United States, survived an assassination attempt while delivering an impromptu speech at night from the back of an open car in Miami, Florida. The would-be assassin, Italian immigrant Giuseppe Zangara, fired five shots with a handgun, injuring four bystanders and mortally wounding Chicago mayor Anton Cermak, who was standing on the running board of the car next to Roosevelt. Zangara's intended target, Roosevelt, was unharmed in the attack. After the assassination attempt, Zangara pleaded guilty to murder and was executed in Florida on March 20, 1933. Roosevelt went on to be the longest-serving president in American history, serving until his death in 1945.