Sadi Carnot

Stabbed on 24 June 1894 in Lyon by the Italian anarchist Sante Geronimo Caserio; the president of France died within the hour.

Overview

Marie Francois Sadi Carnot, grandson of the organizer of revolutionary armies, was elected president in 1887 and restored prestige to the office after the Gravier scandals. Visiting the Lyon exhibition with the worlds fair of 1894, his open carriage was approached by the young anarchist baker Caserio, who leaped on the step and stabbed him in the liver. Carnot died shortly after; Caserio was guillotined within weeks, proclaiming the propaganda of the deed. The murder, after the killings of several European leaders by anarchists, drove the anti-anarchist laws of the era and international conference cooperation on police surveillance. Carnot death ironically strengthened the republic he served, as crowds mourned a fallen head of state with monolithic national ceremony.