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Lincoln’s assassination marked the beginning of his transformation from controversial politician to American legend. This gallery describes the conspiracy that led to Lincoln’s death as well as the outpouring of sorrow that followed. |
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On April 14, 1865, President and Mrs. Lincoln attended a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. During the second act, a Confederate sympathizer named John Wilkes Booth entered the President’s box and shot him from behind, then leaped to the stage and escaped. Doctors knew immediately that Lincoln’s wound would be fatal. He was carried to a nearby house, where he remained unconscious until he died the next morning, April 15, at 7:22. Lincoln’s death shocked the country and plunged it into mourning.
"Our country owed all our troubles to him, and God made me the instrument of His punishment."
- John Wilkes Booth, notebook entry, April 21, 1865
