Voting Station

Richard Paul Pavlick

Please vote to return to collections.

Assassin (Failed)

The Resume

    (February 13, 1887-November 11, 1975)
    Born in Boston, Massachusetts
    Former postal worker
    Relocated to Belmont, New Hampshire, after retiring
    Planned to assassinate President-Elect John F. Kennedy as he left the family mansion in Palm Beach for mass at St. Edward Church (December 11, 1960)
    Arrested in Palm Beach, Florida, for a traffic violation (December 15, 1960)
    Police ran his license plate and discovered he was wanted by the FBI
    Charges against him dropped after a judge ruled he was unable to distinguish right and wrong (December 2, 1963)
    Released from the New Hampshire State Mental Hospital (December 13, 1966)

Why he might be annoying:

    He had a history of delivering angry political rants -- especially complaints about American flags being displayed improperly -- at town meetings.
    He threatened to shoot an electric lineman trying to disconnect his electricity because he refused to pay his utility bills.
    He believed the local water company was poisoning the town's water supply and confronted the company supervisor with a gun.
    He said that because Kennedy was Catholic 'the Pope would be running the United States from Rome.'
    While stalking Kennedy, he sent postcards to the Belmont postmaster, who went to local police, who in turn contacted the FBI.
    He loaded up his 1950 Buick with dynamite and planned to ram Kennedy's limo, blowing them both up.
    A Secret Service official said he had enough explosives 'to blow up a small mountain.'
    Secret Service Chief U.E. Baughman said the bombing attempt 'ranks with the closest calls any president ever had.'
    After his release from the mental hospital, he would stalk the Belmont postmaster who had tipped off the authorities.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He served in the Army during World War I.
    Before hitting the road to stalk JFK, he turned over his property to a local youth camp.
    He decided not to blow up Kennedy because JFK was accompanied by Jackie and their two kids.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 27 Votes: 51.85% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 14 Votes: 92.86% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 34 Votes: 52.94% Annoying