Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau at 9:30 am, less than four months into Garfield's term as the 20th President of the United States. Garfield died eleven weeks later on September 19, 1881, the second of four Presidents to be assassinated, followingAbraham Lincoln and preceding William McKinley and John F. Kennedy. His Vice President, Chester A. Arthur, succeeded Garfield as President. Garfield also lived the longest after the shooting, compared to other presidents. Lincoln and Kennedy died less than a day after being shot, and McKinley died a week later.
Guiteau's family had judged him to be insane in 1875 and attempted to have him committed, but Guiteau had escaped. Now his mania took a violent turn. After the encounter with Blaine, Guiteau decided that he had been commanded by God to kill the ungrateful President and is quoted in saying, "I leave my justification to God." Guiteau borrowed $15 and went to purchase a revolver. He knew little about firearms, but knew that he would need a large caliber gun. He chose to buy an ivory-handled .44 Webley British Bulldog revolver over a similar wooden-handled Webley because he thought it would look good as a museum exhibit after the assassination. (The revolver was recovered and displayed by the Smithsonian in the early 20th century, but has since been lost.) He spent the next few weeks in target practice—the kick from the revolver almost knocked him over the first time —and stalking the President. He wrote a letter to Garfield, saying that he should fire Blaine, or "you and the Republican party will come to grief." The letter was ignored, as was all the correspondence Guiteau sent to the White House.
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