Guiteau, Charles

On July 2, 1881, Charles Julius Guiteau (1841–82) shot President James Garfield in the Washington, D.C., train station. Garfield died September 19, 1881, in New Jersey. Guiteau's trial began November 14, 1881, and concluded January 25, 1882, with a guilty verdict. An appeal was denied and Guiteau was hanged on June 30, 1882.

Charles Guiteau was one of 11 children born to Luther Wilson Guiteau and Jane Howe. The Guiteaus were French Huguenots. Both Guiteau's mother and father had mental problems, as did Charles and some of his siblings. Luther ...