Assassination

Assassination was a specialised form of murder, in which the victim was a prominent individual — often the leader of a government.

Known instances

• James Stevens and the Ninth Doctor were present at the Kennedy assassination. (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy, TV: Rose)
• The Fourth Doctor was accused of assassinating the Lord President on Gallifrey. (TV: The Deadly Assassin)
• Queen Victoria had several assassination attempts made on her life. (TV: Tooth and Claw)
• Kevin was a hired assassin sent by Drel McCavity. (PROSE: The Resurrection Casket)
• The Master used the Toclafane to assassinate President Arthur Coleman Winters. (TV: The Sound of Drums)
• The First Doctor witnessed the assassination of President William McKinley. (PROSE: Byzantium!)
• The Fifth Doctor averted an assassination attempt upon the life of President Abraham Lincoln in Richmond, Virginia in early April 1865. (PROSE: Blood and Hope)
• Stephen Keyser and Walter Jacobs made separate attempts to assassinate Sherilyn Harper, both of which failed. (AUDIO: The Fearmonger)
• "Executive action" was old CIA terminology for assassination. The pharmaceutical company The Pharm granted Billy Davis executive action for dealing with test subjects for Reset. (TV: Reset)

Behind the scenes

• Assassins are, by definition, deadly. This makes the title The Deadly Assassin redundant, which is why the title was gently mocked by the Comic Relief special, The Curse of Fatal Death.