President Lincoln Assassinated
April 14, 1865 · 19th Century
On the evening of April 14, 1865, actor John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln in the head with a derringer during a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Lincoln was carried to the Petersen House across the street, where he died at 7:22 AM on April 15. The attack was part of a coordinated conspiracy that also targeted Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward. Booth was killed by federal troops on April 26.
Key Figures
Abraham LincolnJohn Wilkes BoothMajor Henry RathboneClara HarrisMary Todd LincolnDr. Charles Leale
Locations
Ford's TheatrePetersen House
Topics
ford's theatreassassinationjohn wilkes boothabraham lincoln
Connected Events — 3 Connections
Lincoln assassination created urgency in Congress to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment he had championed Thirteenth Amendment Ratified
Civil War created the political conditions and Confederate sympathizers like Booth who conspired to assassinate Lincoln American Civil War Begins
Lincoln Emancipation Proclamation and leadership in ending slavery made him the target of Booth assassination conspiracy Emancipation Proclamation
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