---
title: "Lincoln Assassinated"
year: 1865
country: "United States"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1865/lincoln-assassination"
slug: "lincoln-assassination"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1865-04-15"
---

# Lincoln Assassinated

> John Wilkes Booth's assassination of President Lincoln just days after Lee's surrender deepened national tragedy and upended hopes for smooth Reconstruction.

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., during a performance of Our American Cousin. Lincoln died the following morning, just days after the Confederacy's surrender and at the moment when his leadership was most needed to guide the nation through Reconstruction.

## Summary

On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., one month into his second term and towards the conclusion of the American Civil War. Lincoln was watching the play Our American Cousin with his wife Mary Todd, Major Henry Rathbone, and Rathbone's fiancé Clara Harris when John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate sympathizer, shot him in the head. Lincoln was taken to the Petersen House across the street, where he was pronounced dead the following morning.

## Key facts

- **Date of shooting**: April 14, 1865
- **Date of death**: April 15, 1865
- **Location**: Ford's Theatre, Washington, D.C.
- **Assassin**: John Wilkes Booth, actor
- **Lincoln's presidency duration**: 4 years, 1 month
- **Lincoln's age at death**: 56 years old
- **Days after Lee's surrender**: 6 days
- **Booth's fate**: Killed by Union soldiers, April 26, 1865

## Timeline

- **1865-04-09** - Lee surrenders at Appomattox
  General Robert E. Lee surrenders the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending major combat in the Civil War.
- **1865-04-11** - Lincoln's last public speech
  Lincoln delivers remarks from the White House balcony outlining his Reconstruction policy, advocating for limited federal intervention and rapid readmission of Southern states.
- **1865-04-14** - Shooting at Ford's Theatre
  John Wilkes Booth shoots President Lincoln during the third act of Our American Cousin. Lincoln is carried to the Petersen House across the street.
- **1865-04-15** - Lincoln dies
  Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 a.m. at the Petersen House. Vice President Andrew Johnson is sworn in as the 17th president.
- **1865-04-21** - State funeral begins
  Lincoln's body lies in state at the Capitol. An estimated 25,000 people file past the coffin.
- **1865-04-26** - Booth killed
  John Wilkes Booth is cornered by Union cavalry in a tobacco barn in Virginia and killed during capture.

## Media coverage

- **The New York Times** (1865-04-15): [ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN](Synthesized from period reporting - archive.nytimes.com)
  > President Abraham Lincoln was shot by an assassin at Ford's Theatre last evening and died at the Petersen House early this morning. The nation is plunged into mourning as Vice President Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency.
- **The Times (London)** (1865-04-17): [DEATH OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN](Synthesized from period reporting - thetimes.co.uk)
  > Dispatches from America confirm that President Lincoln has fallen by the hand of an assassin at Washington. The shocking event has reverberated across the Atlantic and is received with universal expressions of regret throughout Europe.
- **Harper's Weekly** (1865-04-29): [THE NATION'S CALAMITY - The Assassination of President Lincoln](Synthesized from period reporting - harpersweekly.com)
  > Synthesized from period reporting - The assassination of Abraham Lincoln, perpetrated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre on the night of April 14th, stands as the blackest crime in American annals. Harper's examines the conspiracy and its implications for the Union's future.
- **The Philadelphia Inquirer** (1865-04-15): [HORRIBLE CATASTROPHE - President Lincoln Shot - His Death](Synthesized from period reporting - inquirer.com)
  > Synthesized from period reporting - A terrible blow has fallen upon the nation. President Lincoln, while attending a theatrical performance, was shot by an assassin and expired this morning. The country mourns the loss of its war-time leader.
- **Le Moniteur Universel** (1865-04-18): [ASSASSINAT DU PRESIDENT LINCOLN](Synthesized from period reporting - gallica.bnf.fr)
  > FR: 'Le president des Etats-Unis a ete assassine' / EN: 'The President of the United States has been assassinated'. France receives news of Lincoln's death with shock, recognizing the magnitude of the tragedy for American reconstruction efforts.

## Impact

Lincoln's death during the final days of the Civil War removed the one figure with sufficient political capital and moral authority to shape Reconstruction policy. The presidency passed to Andrew Johnson, whose lenient approach to Southern readmission reversed much of Lincoln's agenda and prolonged the crisis of reunification by a decade.

## Sources

- [Lincoln was assassinated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Abraham_Lincoln) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1865/lincoln-assassination