Ferdinand Cohen-Blind

Ferdinand Cohen-Blind (March 25, 1844 – May 8, 1866) was a Jewish German student who attempted to assassinate Otto von Bismarck, the Minister President of Prussia.

Cohen-Blind was born in Mannheim, Grand Duchy of Baden to Jacob Abraham Cohen and his second wife Friederike, née Ettlinger.

[citation needed] Shortly after her son's birth, Friederike began a relationship with journalist and revolutionary Karl Blind, a former student of the University of Heidelberg who had been expelled for expressing radical democratic sentiments.

A childhood in exile shaped Ferdinand; following in his parents' shoes, he rejected the monarchical system of the German states, hoping to emulate his stepfather as a champion of democracy.

Cohen-Blind was taken to police headquarters for questioning, but in an unguarded moment, he slashed his own throat with a knife, severing his carotid artery.