Martin Luther King, Jr., 39, 1929-1968
The photo on the left shows the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. standing with other civil rights leaders on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3rd, 1968. A day later he was assassinated in approximately the same place by James Earl Ray, although there are many conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination. The photo on the right was taken directly after the shooting. King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where doctors opened his chest and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m on April 4th, 1968.