What happened when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated?
Learn about the events before and after the assassination of U.S. Pres. Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth.
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Transcript
Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination: What Happened?
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was shot in the head on April 14, 1865, while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre.
His assassin was John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer who had already made several attempts to abduct the president.
When his abduction plans repeatedly failed, he led his team on a new mission: to assassinate Lincoln and other high-ranking officials, including Secretary of State William Seward.
Booth entered the theater early, tampering with the door to the presidential box. He returned during the play’s third act, shooting the virtually unguarded Lincoln in the back of the head and jumping off the balcony onto the stage.
He reportedly shouted “Sic semper tyrannis!” (a Latin phrase meaning “Thus always to tyrants!”) or “The South is avenged!” or both.
Lincoln died at 7:22 AM the next morning.
A manhunt for Booth and his coconspirators ensued. One was found hiding with Booth in a tobacco barn in Virginia. Though Booth’s partner surrendered, Booth refused.
Booth was shot, either by a soldier or by his own hand, and died moments later.
Learn more about Lincoln’s assassination at Britannica.com.
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was shot in the head on April 14, 1865, while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre.
His assassin was John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer who had already made several attempts to abduct the president.
When his abduction plans repeatedly failed, he led his team on a new mission: to assassinate Lincoln and other high-ranking officials, including Secretary of State William Seward.
Booth entered the theater early, tampering with the door to the presidential box. He returned during the play’s third act, shooting the virtually unguarded Lincoln in the back of the head and jumping off the balcony onto the stage.
He reportedly shouted “Sic semper tyrannis!” (a Latin phrase meaning “Thus always to tyrants!”) or “The South is avenged!” or both.
Lincoln died at 7:22 AM the next morning.
A manhunt for Booth and his coconspirators ensued. One was found hiding with Booth in a tobacco barn in Virginia. Though Booth’s partner surrendered, Booth refused.
Booth was shot, either by a soldier or by his own hand, and died moments later.
Learn more about Lincoln’s assassination at Britannica.com.