George Wallace

The long time governor of Alabama was running for president for in 1972 and, despite being a segregationist, was rising swiftly in the polls. That all changed on May 15 in Laurel, Maryland: would-be assassin Arthur Bremer pumped five bullets into Wallace; one bullet struck Wallace's spine and paralyzed him for life. Bremer later revealed he shot Wallace purely to achieve fame, a quote that inspired the 1976 movie Taxi Driver,which itself ironically inspired John Hinckley Jr. to shoot President Ronald Reagan nine years later.