Lincoln & Booth – Another Connection

Lincoln & Booth – Another Connection

OvEdwin_boother 140 years ago Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Robert_lincoln_1 Booth, but there was another strange connection between the Lincoln family and the Booth family described best by Historynet.com, a history magazine publisher. Robert Todd Lincoln was the eldest of four sons and a student at Harvard. Edwin Booth was the second of three sons. Edward was seen as one the 19th’s century’s great Shakespearean actors. During the civil war Robert was traveling to Washington D.C. during a school break. Booth was on his way to Virginia with a friend, John T. Ford, owner of the Ford Theater where Lincoln was shot. Lincoln was knocked off balance by the crowd and saved from falling and injuring himself by someone who grabbed his collar. That turned out to be Edwin Booth.  It was on Good Friday, April 14, 1865 while Robert was at the White House when his father was shot by Edwin Booth’s brother, John at the Ford Theater. After the assassination, Edwin was forced to abandon the stage for a long period. He made his return to the stage playing the lead in Hamlet, which eventually became his signature role.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *