Archduke’s Assassination

On June 28th, 1914, Gavrilo Princip’s group “The Black Hand” messed up their first attempt to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. His colleague was to throw a grenade under the carriage as the Archduke and his wife passed over. The grenade delayed and blew up as the next car that came by. He panicked, swallowed a cyanide pill, and jumped in a nearby river. Except for the cyanide pill just made him vomit, and the river was only 6 inches deep, so he was caught pretty easily.

Gavrilo Princip felt dejected and proceeded to get some food at a local restaurant. After the assassination attempt, Archduke Franz Ferdinand told his driver to head to the hospital where he and his wife could visit those injured from the failed plot on his life. Cars hadn’t been around for too long, so when the driver got lost and tried to reverse the car, it stalled right in front of the restaurant where Princip was finishing lunch. He walked outside, saw the Archduke standing there, and fired into his neck.

Essentially, the most revolutionary event of the 20th century was a do-over.