About
Drifter-lawyer, religious pamphleteer, and political hanger-on known for assassinating President James A. Garfield at the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Station on July 2nd, 1881. He also became known for his bizarre trial behavior and for reciting his own poem, "I Am Going to the Lordy" on the scaffold. His case is remembered as an early and headline-dominating test of the insanity defense in U.S. courts and as a catalyst in the public debate that culminated in the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883.
Before Fame
He wanted to attend the University of Michigan but was unable to, which resulted in him joining the Oneida Community for several years. He moved to Chicago where he studied law, passed a cursory bar exam, and worked as a bill collector and occasional attorney. He began street preaching and hustling in the 1880s. He delivered his speech "Garfield against Hancock" in June 1880. He shot James A. Garfield in July 1881.
Trivia
He chose a .44 British Bulldog revolver with an ivory-colored grip because he thought it would "look impressive in a museum" after being used in the assassination.
Family Life
He was the fourth of six children of Luther W. Guiteau and Jane Howe Guiteau. He married Annie Bunn in 1868, and they divorced in 1874. He was executed on June 30th, 1882.
Associated With
He was rebuffed by James G Blaine. He thought Chester A. Arthur, the vice president under James A. Garfield would reward him once he became President.
