First Assassination Attempt on Kaiser Wilhelm I (May 11, 1878) On May 11, 1878, Max Hödel, a twenty-one-year-old unemployed journeyman plumber, fired three shots in an attempt to assassinate Kaiser Wilhelm I, but all missed their intended target. The attempt took place as the Kaiser, accompanied by his daughter, the Grand Duchess of Baden, rode in an open carriage on Berlin’s most famous thoroughfare, Unter den Linden. This woodcut is based on a drawing by Hermann Lüders.