1-152-147 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Alexander II (1818-1881), Tsar of Russia from 1855, c1880. Known as 'The Liberator', Alexander emancipated Russia's serfs in 1861. The pace of reform under Alexander's rule was too slow for some, however, and on 13 March 1881 he was assassinated in St Petersburg by a bomb thrown by a nihilist student. Cartoon from Vanity Fair, London, 16 October 1869.