The man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln was a popular stage actor named John Wilkes Booth. The 16th president of the United States was watching a play called Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., when Booth shot him in the head. According to Britannica, the assassin was a Confederate sympathizer. Furthermore, the gun he used was a Deringer pistol.
This tragic incident took place on the evening of April 14, 1865. However, Lincoln passed away the next day at 7:22 a.m. in the Petersen House. It is noteworthy that just a few days before his assassination, the American Civil War came to an end. The death of Abraham Lincoln sent shockwaves across the nation, and officials launched an elaborate manhunt to capture Booth and everyone else involved in this case.
After carrying out the killing, Booth escaped to Southern Maryland. Officials then tracked him down in rural Northern Virginia. Even though his companion David Herold surrendered, the assassin did not. He had a stand-off with the police, which ended with him taking a bullet to the neck. Initially, he got paralyzed. However, he succumbed to his injury on April 26, 1865. John Wilkes Booth was 26 years old at the time of his death.
In 2013, the National Geographic channel released a television film about this tragic incident titled Killing Lincoln. It was inspired by the book of the same name, which was written by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard.
According to Apple TV+, the synopsis of Killing Lincoln reads, “Based on The New York Times best-selling novel, Killing Lincoln is the suspenseful, eye-opening story of the events surrounding the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. While some aspects of the plot to slay Lincoln and cripple the newly forming union are widely known, much more of the history unfolds in this insightful drama. As actor John Wilkes Booth becomes increasingly obsessed with removing Lincoln from office, a secret cabal forms, and ultimately empowers Booth to carry out an event that will change America forever.”
How old was Abraham Lincoln at the time of his death?
Abraham Lincoln was 56 years old at the time of his death. He became the president of the USA in 1861 and held this post till his assassination in 1865.
Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks in Hodgenville, Kentucky. He was the second child of the couple. The family moved to Indiana in 1816. Abraham’s father worked as a farmer, cabinetmaker, and carpenter. However, from time to time, he even owned farms, livestock, and town lots. Furthermore, he even sat on juries, appraised estates, and also served on county patrols.
Abraham’s parents were members of a Separate Baptist church. This Church strictly condoned alcohol, dancing, and slavery. In 1839, Lincoln met his future wife, Mary Todd, for the first time. A year later, they got engaged and tied the knot on November 4, 1842. Together, the pair had four children – Robert, Edward, Willie, and Tad. Robert Todd Lincoln was the only Lincoln child to outlive his parents.
