Emil Max Hödel (27 May 1857 – 16 August 1878) was a plumber from

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and a

propaganda of the deed Propaganda of the deed (or propaganda by the deed, from the French ) is specific political direct action meant to be exemplary to others and serve as a catalyst for revolution. It is primarily associated with acts of violence perpetrated by pro ...

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

, who became known for the failed assassination of the German Emperor,

Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...

. A former member of the Leipzig Social-Democratic Association, he was expelled from the organization in the 1870s and eventually became involved in

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...

. Hödel used a

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

to shoot at the German Emperor, Wilhelm I, on 11 May 1878, while the 81-year-old and his daughter,

Princess Louise of Prussia Princess Louise Marie Elisabeth of Prussia (; 3 December 1838 – 23 April 1923) was Grand Duchess of Baden from 1856 to 1907 as the wife of Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, Grand Duke Frederick I. Princess Louise was the second child and on ...

, paraded in their carriage. Hödel was seized immediately. He was tried and convicted of high treason, and sentenced to death on 10 July by the Prussian State Court. , Prussian state executioner, beheaded Hödel on 16 August 1878 in

Moabit Moabit () is an inner city locality in the borough of Mitte, Berlin, Germany. As of 2016, around 77,000 people lived in Moabit. First inhabited in 1685 and incorporated into Berlin in 1861, the former industrial and working-class neighbourhood i ...

prison. (in German)Blazek, Matthias. ''Scharfrichter in Preußen und im Deutschen Reich 1866–1945'', Stuttgart 2010, p. 3., (in German) Although Hödel had been expelled from the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

, his actions, and those of

Karl Nobiling Karl Eduard Nobiling (10 April 1848 – 10 September 1878) was a German attempted assassin, who in 1878 made an attempt on the life of Emperor Wilhelm I. Nobiling was born in Kolno near Birnbaum (Międzychód) in the Prussian Province of Posen ...

, were used as justification to ban the party through the Anti-Socialist Law in October 1878.

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1857 births 1878 deaths 1878 crimes in Europe Politicians from Leipzig Executed anarchists Failed regicides People executed by Germany by decapitation People executed by the German Empire People executed for attempted murder German anarchists German revolutionaries Executed people from Saxony Criminals from Saxony 1878 in Germany {{germany-crime-bio-stub

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