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Today in History, Thursday, January 30

1835: Andrew Jackson barely escapes assassination

On Jan. 30, 1835, the first presidential assassination attempt in American history unfolded when Richard Lawrence attempted to murder Andrew Jackson as he was leaving a funeral in the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Lawrence’s gun misfired, and the elderly Jackson retaliated angrily by beating his would be assassin repeatedly with his walking stick. Lawrence had a second pistol, but it misfired as well. Given the likelihood of two guns misfiring consecutively, researchers at the Smithsonian Institution test-fired Lawrence’s derringer pistols, both discharged normally on the first try. Lawrence was most likely a mentally unstable individual with no connections to Jackson’s political rivals, but the president was convinced that his Whig rivals had hired the gunman for purposes of assassination. Vice President Martin Van Buren was also wary and, thereafter, never visited the Senate without carrying two loaded pistols. 

Source: https://www.history.com/