Abraham Lincoln died 159 years ago today, on April 15, 1865. He was shot the night of April 14, while attending a performance at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and passed away the following morning.
Lincoln was watching the play Our American Cousin when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, who was a prominent actor but also a Confederate sympathizer. After shooting Lincoln, Booth jumped from the presidential booth to the stage, where he shouted "Sic semper Tyrannis!” (“Thus always to Tyrants”). Lincoln was taken to a private home across the street from the theater, but doctors were unable to help him and he died nine hours later, at 7:22 a.m.
The presidential box at Ford’s Theatre is where Lincoln and his wife were sitting when Booth walked into the box and shot the president from behind.
(Photos by Bob Riel)
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