Interesting Facts!

[USAFVET98]

These facts are just amazing!

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.


Both presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both presidents were shot in the head.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln.


Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.


Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939


Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named 'Ford'.
Kennedy was shot in a car called ' Lincoln ' made by 'Ford'.

Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse.
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

 

[sptfr43]

that's just creepy!

 

[wdcav1952]

These facts are just amazing!

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.


Both presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both presidents were shot in the head.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln.


Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.


Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939


Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named 'Ford'.
Kennedy was shot in a car called ' Lincoln ' made by 'Ford'.

Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse.
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

The week before he was shot, Lincoln was in Monroe, Maryland............

 

[jkeithrussell]

Mostly true, but a couple of boo-boos:

First, it is an urban myth that Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy. There is no record of that.
Second, Booth actually fled to a farm and was killed in a tobacco barn. It might be a stretch to call it a warehouse.
Third, Booth wasn't assassinated -- he was killed by the military team that was pursuing him.
Fourth, Booth was born in 1838, not 1839.

Still, a lot of weird similarities.

 

[rjwolfe3]

I just watched a special on history channel and they said that one of the military officers killed Booth to get recognized, even though they were under strict orders not too.

 

[Skye]

The week before he was shot, Lincoln was in Monroe, Maryland............

Baahahahahahaaaa!

 

[jkeithrussell]

Rob -- The barn that Booth was hiding in had been set on fire. One of the officers was trying to get Booth to surrender. Another, on the other side, saw Booth through a barn door aiming to shoot at either his accomplice or one of the officers. The sergeant (I think) who shot Booth said that he was trying to shoot him in the arm but Booth lurched and caught the bullet in his head. Ironically, Booth was shot in nearly the same spot on his head as he shot Lincoln. There's no way to know whether the guy who shot Booth did so to get recognized, but I doubt it because he would not have wanted to face court martial for defying orders.

 

[rjwolfe3]

No offense because I do not know your background but I would assume that a special on Lincoln that was on the History channel would be pretty factual. They had quotes from the guy that shot Booth (through the neck by the way - they have his vertabrae from his neck in a museum) that pretty much showed that he did it for the glory. Maybe it was a slant by the producers of the show but I tend to believe the History channel on most things.

 

[jkeithrussell]

No offense taken. The History Channel has some good programs. I also watched the one you are talking about. I'm not an expert on the subject, but I have read a lot of historical work on Lincoln and Booth. There's a lot of information that was not discussed in the HC program, and there are other points of view. I wasn't there, so I don't know for sure what happened. I was just relating a different point of view. For example, wikipedia has this statement: "In his official statement, Corbett claimed he shot Booth because he thought Lincoln's assassin was preparing to use his weapons. This claim was denied by other witnesses. When asked later why he did it, Corbett said that "Providence directed me."" That's considerably different from saying that he shot Booth because he wanted to be famous.

That's the cool thing about history. You gather as many facts as you can find, and you have to figure out (or guess, but hopefully an educated guess) at motives, emotions, reasonings, etc., to try to give some meaning to the raw facts. When I see it reported that this soldier shot the man who killed Lincoln for the purpose of gaining fame, I have to say that, on balance, I don't believe it.

 

[Mather323]

Very interesting!