Hussein bin Talal had the fortune of being born into the royal family, and the misfortune that this event put his life in danger at an early age. Young Prince Hussein was visiting the Al-Aqsa mosque with his grandfather, King Abdullah for regular Friday prayers when a gunman stormed in, opening fire on the royal family. King Abdullah was struck instantly, and and Prince Talal would have met the same fate if not for the bullet striking a medal his grandfather gave him earlier.

On this day, August 11, in 1952, following his grandfather’s assassination, Hussein bin Talal took over as the ruler of Jordan. He was second in line for succession, but his older brother was removed from the throne after a year because of his mental instability (he was diagnosed with schizophrenia).

King Hussein bin Talal worked diligently to improve his country’s living standards. At the start of his reign as king only 10% of Jordanians had water, electricity and sanitation, a figure that he raised to 99%. Literacy was improved from 33% to 85%. The king struggled with the international situation, however, starting with the 1967 Six-Day War with Israel that shattered his country’s armed forces and led to a large influx of Palestinian refugees to Jordnan.