Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865 at Ford's Theatre

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was assassinated on April 14, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth, a well-known actor and Confederate sympathizer. The assassination occured at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., where Lincoln was attending a performance of the play "Our American Cousin" with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and two guests. Booth, having meticulously planned the attack, entered the presidential box and shot Lincoln in the back of the head at point-blank range. After shooting Lincoln, Booth jumped onto the stage, breaking his leg in the process, and escaped from the theater.

The assassination of Lincoln occurred just days after the end of the Civil War and the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House. Lincoln was taken to a nearby boarding house where he remained in a coma for several hours before succumbing to his injuries the following morning on April 15, 1865. The nation was plunged into mourning, and Lincoln's death marked the first assassination of a U.S. president. Booth was pursued and ultimately killed by Union soldiers twelve days later. Lincoln's assassination had profound implications for the nation, affecting the course of Reconstruction and the healing process after the Civil War.

---

Sources:
1. History.com Editors. "Lincoln's Assassination." History.com. https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/abraham-lincoln-assassination
2. National Park Service. "Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln." National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/foth/learn/historyculture/lincoln-assassination.htm