13. The only individual to have served as both Vice President and President of the United States without having been elected to either office, Gerald Ford faced two assassination attempts in just seventeen days in 1975
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., born Leslie Lynch King Jr in 1913, served as the 40th Vice President and 38th President of the United States. Appointed Nixon’s deputy under the conditions of the 25th Amendment after the resignation of Spiro Agnew, Ford succeeded Nixon to the Oval Office after the latter’s own resignation following the Watergate scandal in 1974. Serving just 895 days as commander-in-chief, Ford’s presidency is the shortest in American history for any individual who did not die in office. Despite this brevity, Ford was the victim of multiple assassination attempts during his tenure as America’s head of state.
First targeted on September 5, 1975, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme – a cult member from Charles Manson’s Manson Family – attempted to assassinate Ford in Sacramento, California, in protest against environmental pollution. Despite pointing a gun at Ford from point-blank range on the grounds of the State Capitol, having failed to chamber a round the gun did not fire. Just seventeen days later, with crowds kept further away from the president, Sara Jane Moore fired a revolver at Ford. Missing by a few feet, Moore was tackled by retired Marine Oliver Sipple before she could aim a second shot.