John Wilkes Booth

John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American actor who is most famous for assassinating Abraham Lincoln. A professional and extremely popular stage actor of his day, Booth was a Confederate sympathizer who was dissatisfied by the outcome of the American Civil War.

Theatrical career and Civil War

Booth made his stage debut in August, 1855, at the age of 17, when he played the Earl of Richmond in Shakespeare's Richard III. At his request he was billed as "J.B. Wilkes", a pseudonym meant to divert attention away from his famous thespian family. In 1858 he became a member of the Richmond Theatre, and his career started to take off. He was referred to in reviews as "the handsomest man in America." He stood 5 feet, 8 inches tall, had jet-black hair, and was lean and athletic. He was also an excellent swordsman. His performances were often characterized by his contemporaries as acrobatic and intensely physical. A fellow actress once recalled that he occasionally cut himself with his own sword, and routinely slept covered in steaks to tend to the bruises inflicted on the stage.

Related Topics:
1855 - Richard III - 1858

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1859, Booth happened to be preparing for a theatrical engagement in Richmond, Virginia, a few weeks before the scheduled execution of the famous abolitionist John Brown. In October, Brown had raided the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (in present-day West Virginia) in an unsuccessful attempt to start a state-wide slave insurrection. Upon hearing of the verdict, Booth headed to Charles Town, bought a Richmond Gray militia uniform from state officers, and stood guard along the gallows as Brown was hanged.

Related Topics:
1859 - Richmond, Virginia - Abolitionist - John Brown - Armory - Harpers Ferry - Virginia - West Virginia - Insurrection - Charles Town

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When Abraham Lincoln was elected president on November 6, 1860, Booth wrote a long speech that decried what he saw as a Northern abolitionism and made clear his strong support of the South and the institution of slavery. On April 12, 1861, the Civil War broke out, and eventually 11 Southern states seceded from the Union. Booth's family was from Maryland, a border state which remained loyal to the Union during the war despite a slaveholding population that was strongly sympathetic to the Southern cause. Along with the fact that Maryland shared a border with Washington, D.C., Lincoln had declared martial law in the state, a view that many, including Booth, viewed as unconstitutional and an abuse of executive power.

Related Topics:
November 6 - 1860 - Slavery - April 12 - 1861 - Civil War - Maryland - Border state - Washington, D.C. - Martial law - Unconstitutional

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Booth, like many in Maryland, came from a divided family. Most of his family were staunch Unionists, but Booth considered himself a Southerner, and he made an early promise to his mother that he would not enlist in the Confederate Army. Instead he lived out the war mostly in Washington D.C., travelling North and South as a performer and as far west as Ohio. Booth was outspoken in his love for the South, and equally outspoken in his hatred for Lincoln. In early 1862, Booth was arrested and taken before a provost marshal in St. Louis for making anti-government remarks.

Related Topics:
Confederate Army - Ohio - 1862 - St. Louis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Booth and Lincoln crossed paths on several occasions. Lincoln was an avid theater-goer and especially loved Shakespeare. On November 9, 1863, President Lincoln saw Booth playing Raphael in Charles Selby's The Marble Heart at Ford's Theatre in Washington. At one point during the performance, Booth shook his finger in Lincoln's direction as he delivered a line of dialogue. Later, Lincoln requested to meet the actor after the play but Booth refused. Lincoln sat in the same "presidential box" in which he would later be assassinated.

Related Topics:
November 9 - 1863 - Charles Selby - Ford's Theatre - Washington

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Booth made only one other acting appearance at Ford's. That occurred on March 18, 1865, when he played Duke Pescara in The Apostate in what was the last appearance of his career. However, Booth's family was long time friends with John T. Ford, the theater's owner, and Booth was in and out of the theater so often during the war that he even had his mail sent there. This granted Booth complete access to Ford's Theatre, day and night.

Related Topics:
March 18 - 1865 - John T. Ford

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~