Quick Facts
Died At Age: 26
Family:
father: Junius Brutus Booth
mother: Mary Ann Holmes
siblings: Asia Booth, Edwin Booth, Junius Brutus Booth Jr.
Murderers American Men
Died on: April 26, 1865
place of death: Port Royal, Virginia, United States
Childhood & Early Life
He was the ninth of ten children born to the stage actor Junius Brutus Booth and his mistress Mary Ann Holmes. He was named after the radical politician John Wilkes. His parents got married after his father divorced his first wife.
He was an athletic and popular boy though he did not like school. He entered St. Timothy’s Hall, a military academy, where students were made to wear uniforms and were subjected to strict discipline. He left the academy within a year.
Later Years
He aspired to become an actor like his father and made his stage debut in a production of Shakespeare’s ‘Richard III’ in 1855 when he was 17 years old. He was very handsome and exuded a certain charisma which made him a very popular actor.
He was highly energetic and very passionate in his acting. He spent the early 1860s on a national tour as a leading actor. A family friend, John T. Ford opened a 1,500 seat Ford’s Theatre in 1863 and Booth was one of the first leading men to appear there.
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and Booth took sides with the Confederate States of America. He was a strong supporter of slavery and vehemently opposed abolitionism. He was also against black suffrage.
He developed a deep hatred for Abraham Lincoln who had become the President in 1860. He hoped that the Confederacy would win in the next presidential elections but as the 1864 elections drew near he realized that Lincoln might win the re-election.
Lincoln’s re-election in 1864 almost drove Booth crazy. He plotted an elaborate plan to kidnap the President along with some other co-conspirators.
In March 1865, he got the information that Lincoln would be attending the play ‘Still Waters Run Deep’ at a hospital. Booth and his men assembled themselves on the route to the hospital to kidnap the President when he traveled through. However, the President changed his plans at the last minute.
Booth’s hatred for the President primarily rooted from the fact that Lincoln was an abolitionist who believed in black suffrage. The president’s views enraged Booth so much that he decided to assassinate the President instead of kidnapping him.
On April 14, 1865, he received the news that the President along with his wife would be attending the play ‘Our American Cousin’ at Ford’s theater in the evening. He set about making plans to kill the President.
Booth informed his accomplices Powell, Herold and Atzerodt about his plans and assigned Powell and Atzerodt to assassinate Secretary of State William H. Seward and Vice President Andrew Johnson respectively.
As a famous actor, he easily gained entry into the theatre and at 10 p.m. in the evening he fatally shot Lincoln as he was watching the play. After the assassination he leapt on to the stage and declared “Sic semper tyrannis” that is Latin for “Thus always to tyrants”. He then escaped using a getaway horse.
Major Crime
Booth was a famous actor who became notorious for assassinating the President Lincoln. He always harbored a deep hatred for Lincoln and had plotted an unsuccessful attempt at kidnapping him. He assassinated the President by shooting him fatally as Lincoln was watching a play.
Personal Life
He fell in love with Lucy Lambert Hale, the daughter of U.S. senator John P. Hale in 1865. He persistently courted the beautiful lady and became engaged to her secretly. Their engagement came to an end when he killed the President.
After killing the President he escaped along with his co-conspirators. After crossing the Potomac River they took refuge at the Garret farm in Virginia. The investigators caught up with them by 26 April 1865. They set fire to the barn where he was hiding and shot Booth when he refused to surrender. He died of his injuries hours later.
Facts About John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was a talented actor, known for his charisma and stage presence.
He came from a famous theatrical family, with his father being a well-respected actor in his own right.
Booth was fluent in multiple languages, including French and Latin, showcasing his intellect and cultural knowledge.
He had a deep interest in American history and was known to be well-read on the subject.
Booth was known for his strong sense of patriotism and believed he was acting in the best interest of the South during the Civil War.
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