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1. About Dr. John K. Lattimer
Dr. John K. Lattimer (1914–2007) was an expert on the Lincoln assassination as well as the Kennedy family’s autopsy expert. This is what he had to say about the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations in his book Kennedy and Lincoln: Medical and Ballistic Comparisons of Their Assassinations:
“The assassination of President John F. Kennedy has turned out to be almost a replay of the assassinations of President Abraham Lincoln, point by point. The similarities, coincidences, and associations are so striking as to be worthy of assembling in the epilogue that follows.”
Dr. Lattimer devoted the entire epilogue of his book (pages 335-365) to these similarities, coincidences, and associations. As you will see in these articles, the evidence is overwhelming.
2. Table of Coincidences Between Lincoln and Kennedy
- Their Photographs
- Their Careers
- Their Physical Traits
- Their Families
- Their Relationships
- Their Activists
- Their Assassinations
- Their Assassins
- Their Assassin’s Escape
- Their Assassin’s Death
- Their Funerals
- Their Vice Presidents
- Their Vice President’s Successor
- Their Paranormal Lives
- Their Highly Unusual Lives
- Links to More Resources
- Conclusion
3. Their Photographs
4. Their Careers
— Lincoln’s birthplace is a National Monument.
— Kennedy’s birthplace is a National Monument.
— Lincoln moved a short distance away from his birthplace in early childhood, had a brother (Thomas) born there, and then moved away from his birth state (Kentucky) before the age of ten.
— Kennedy moved a short distance away from his birthplace in early childhood, had a brother (Robert) born there, and then moved away from his birth state (Massachusetts) before the age of ten.
— Lincoln was the second-born child, his older sibling (Sarah) having predeceased at the time of his election to the House in ’46 (1846).
— Kennedy was the second-born child, his older sibling (Kathleen) having predeceased at the time of his election to the House in ’46 (1946).
— Lincoln grew up in a place now known as Lincoln City, Indiana where his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, is currently buried.
— President Kennedy signed a bill preserving the Lincoln City, Indiana, farm site as a U.S. Presidential Memorial called the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial.
— Lincoln was named after his grandfather.
— Kennedy was named after his grandfather.
Interesting Note: Lincoln had no middle name. He was simply (and legally) just “Abraham Lincoln” his entire life.
Interesting Note: During the time Lincoln lived in Kentucky and Indiana, the family name was pronounced “Linkhorn.”
— Lincoln’s father, Thomas Lincoln, owned two 600-acre farms, several town lots, livestock, and horses and was among the richest men in the county.
— Kennedy’s father, Joseph Kennedy, Sr., got rich in part from the Wall Street Crash of 1929. When Fortune magazine published its first list of the richest people in the United States in 1957, it estimated Joseph Kennedy, Sr. to be between the 9th and 16th richest person in the country.
Interesting Note: Lincoln did not attend his own father’s funeral. The two were not close. From the time Lincoln was a child until his 23rd year, his father made him work like a slave almost constantly with an axe and was even loaned him out to neighbors. Upon being informed of his father’s declining health, Lincoln refused to visit him. Thomas Lincoln died 5 days later.
— Lincoln served in the military as an officer (Captain) in the Black Hawk War.
— Kennedy served in the military as an officer (Lieutenant) during World War II. His actions during the war made him a war hero, which proved helpful in his political career. After he became president, his heroics during the war became a cultural phenomenon, inspiring a song, many books, movies, various television series, collectible objects, scale model replicas and toys.
Interesting Note: A good example of Lincoln’s humanity was demonstrated when, as a captain during the Black Hawk War, an old Indian came into his camp and delivered himself to Lincoln, showing him a paper stating how the Indian was a good and true man. Many of Lincoln’s men demanded the old Indian be killed which caused Lincoln to come to the old Indian’s aid. Some of the men were outraged and called Lincoln cowardly for which Lincoln remarked, “If any man thinks I am a coward let him test it,” rising to an unusual height. One of the men replied, “Lincoln, you are larger and heavier than we are.” Lincoln replied, “Choose your weapons.” This quickly silenced all charges of Lincoln being a coward.
— Lincoln was a boat captain and worked as the assistant pilot of the Talisman, a Mississippi River boat.
— Kennedy was a boat captain and skipper of PT (Patrol Torpedo boat) 109. After previous rejections due to a bad back and other health problems, Kennedy joined the U.S. Navy. His influential father helped him overcome any obstacles to get in. Kennedy was first assigned to the Office of Naval Intelligence in Washington and was there during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Eventually, Kennedy transferred to the Solomon Islands as a replacement officer to command the PT-109.
Interesting Note: Lincoln floated down the Mississippi on a flatboat when he was a teenager, and sold fruits and vegetables in New Orleans. Then he sold the boat, and walked 800 miles back home.
— Lincoln almost drowned earlier in life. Lincoln’s life was saved by a playmate from Knob Creek, Kentucky.
— Kennedy almost drowned early in his life when the PT-109 he was commanding was sunk by the enemy and cut in half. Two crew mates were killed, and two others were badly injured. The survivors swam for four hours to a tiny deserted island 3.5 miles away. Kennedy, who had been on the Harvard University varsity swim team, used a life jacket strap clenched between his teeth to tow a badly-burned survivor. Kennedy then swam over two miles more to other small islands in search of help and food. He then led his men to an island which had coconut trees and drinkable water. Kennedy and his men survived for six days on coconuts before they were found by the scouts.
Interesting Note: At age 9, Lincoln was severely kicked by a horse on the forehead by a horse and was unconscious for several hours, and there were fears for his life. The kick came at a moment when Lincoln was halfway through speaking a sentence. Remarkably, his first words upon regaining consciousness were the completion of the sentence.
— Lincoln was an advocate for women’s rights. On June 13, 1836, 24 years before he became president, — Lincoln was the first elected official in U.S. history to favor extending the vote to women. State legislator Lincoln gave an Illinois newspaper a statement endorsing female suffrage.
— Kennedy was an advocate for women’s rights. On June 10, 1963, Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, making it illegal for employers to pay a woman less than what a man would receive for the same job.
— Lincoln is the only U.S. president who was also a licensed bartender. He was co-owner of Berry and Lincoln, a saloon in Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln’s career as a bartender was fairly short-lived. In 1834, he ran for state legislator and won forcing him to give up the bar tending business. When Lincoln was seven years old, his father sold his country farm for about four-hundred gallons of corn whiskey.
— Kennedy is the only U.S. president whose father was one of the biggest bootleggers in the country. His father became very wealthy both from the legal and illegal importation of alcohol during and after Prohibition.
— Lincoln was elected to Congress in ’46.
— Kennedy was elected to Congress in ’46.
— Lincoln was the runner-up for the nomination of Vice President in ’56 and ran against the incumbent Vice President (John Breckinridge) in ’60. It was one of two times in U.S. history when an incumbent Vice-president ran for President and lost. Breckinridge later suffered disgrace and fled the country to escape capture as a traitor for serving the South.
— Kennedy was the runner-up for the nomination of Vice President in ’56 and ran against the incumbent Vice President (Richard Nixon) in ’60. It was one of two times in U.S. history when an incumbent Vice-president ran for President and lost. Nixon later suffered disgrace by resigning from the Presidency due to scandal.
Interesting Note: John Breckinridge was the cousin of Mary Todd, Lincoln’s wife.
— The first public suggestion of Lincoln being the Republican candidate for President is believed to have been on November 6, 1858, by Israel Green. He suggested a ticket with Lincoln for President and John P. Kennedy for Vice President.
— President Kennedy’s name is John F. Kennedy.
— The Republican Convention was held in Chicago in ’60 where Lincoln was nominated the presidential nominee.
— The Republican Convention was held in Chicago in ’60. The Democratic Convention was held in Los Angeles in ’60 where Kennedy was nominated the presidential nominee.
Interesting Note: John Connally was the one who revealed to the public that Kennedy had Addison’s disease and how it might cause him to be unable to serve a full term as President. Connally’s words about Kennedy not serving a full term as President was prophetic when in 1963 both Connally and Kennedy faced death in Dallas.
— Lincoln won his party’s nomination against older and more experienced politicians whom he later selected for high places in his Cabinet (William Seward – Secretary of State, Salmon Chase – Treasury).
— Kennedy won his party’s nomination against older and more experienced politicians whom he later selected for high places in his Cabinet (Adlai Stevenson – UN ambassador, Lyndon Johnson – Vice President).
— In the ’60 presidential election, Herschel Johnson was a southerner who ran for Vice President on the Democratic ticket.
— In the ’60 presidential election, Lyndon Johnson was a southerner who ran for Vice President on the Democratic ticket.
— Lincoln ran as a minority party candidate and was considered to be a long-shot for the Presidency.
— Kennedy ran as a minority party candidate and was considered to be a long-shot for the Presidency. He was also a Roman Catholic when nearly all Presidents before him were Protestant.
— Lincoln was a president of many “firsts“. He was the first Republican president. He was the first president born outside the original 13 states. He was the first president born in Kentucky. He was the first president to be assassinated. He was the first president to have a beard which he grew on the advice of an 11-year old girl. Lincoln was the first president to receive a transcontinental telegraph message.
— Kennedy was a president of many “firsts“. He was the first Catholic president. He was also the first Boy Scout to become president and the first president to be born in the 20th century. Kennedy was the first president to have served in the U.S. Navy. Kennedy participated in the first televised U.S. presidential debates in U.S. history. Kennedy debated with then Vice President Richard Nixon. Kennedy was the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize. Kennedy was the first president to have live press conferences and to made good use of the medium. In September of 1963, Kennedy participated in television’s first half hour evening newscast in an interview CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite. Kennedy was the first president to call on all Americans to embrace Civil Rights as a moral imperative. Kennedy is the only president to have predeceased both of his parents. He is also the only president to have predeceased a grandparent.
Interesting Note: Kennedy donated his salary as president to the Boy Scouts among other charities. Kennedy’s presidential salary was $100,000 per year.
Interesting Note: Lincoln is the only president to have a patent. The patent was for a device designed by Lincoln for freeing ships which ran aground in shallow water. Lincoln received patent number 6469 in 1849 for his invention.
Interesting Note: Lincoln’s salary as president was $25,000 a year.
— Lincoln’s “deist religious faith” caused religious bigots to accuse him of being an infidel, if not an atheist, and of having called Jesus “an illegitimate child.”
— Kennedy’s Catholic religious faith caused religious bigots to accuse him of having an allegiance to the Pope which disqualified him from becoming President of the United States.
— Lincoln was loved by the common people and hated by many in the establishment and was called “The People’s President.”
— Kennedy was loved by the common people and hated by many in the establishment and his presidency was heralded as the return of “Camelot.”
— Lincoln was involved in a historically significant political debate in Illinois – the Lincoln-Douglas Debates. Lincoln was elected president in ‘60 partly due to these debates with the other main candidate (Stephen Douglas) who was born in ’13, had been a senator, who was better known at the time of the debate, and who sat near the president-elect at the inauguration.
— Kennedy was involved in a historically significant political debate in Illinois – the Kennedy-Nixon Debates. Kennedy was elected president in ’60 partly due to these debates with the other main candidate (Richard Nixon) who was born in ’13, had been a senator, who was better known at the time of the debate, and who sat near the president-elect at the inauguration.
Interesting Note: The location of the Kennedy-Nixon debate was roughly 80 miles from where the Lincoln-Douglas debate took place.
— Lincoln believed people owed the government more than the government owed the people. According to Lincoln’s friend Joseph Gillespie, Lincoln held to this principle: “We are more indebted to our government than it is to us.”
— Kennedy believed people owed the government more than the government owed the people. He spoke these famous words: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
— Lincoln was famous for words ringing out for sacrifice and liberty. In his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln said, “It is rather this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that from the earth.”
— Kennedy was famous for words ringing out for sacrifice and liberty. Kennedy, in his Inaugural Address, declared, “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any the survival and the success of liberty.”
— Lincoln was much younger (17 years difference) than his predecessor James Buchanan. Buchanan’s home was located at Lancaster, Pennsylvania about sixty miles from Gettysburg. He was the oldest president ever at the time. Buchanan was the last president to be born in the 18th century. He was a Presbyterian who was born in ’91, left office in ’61, and died at the age of 78, at the end of the decade he left office.
— Kennedy was much younger (26 years difference) than his predecessor Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower’s home was located at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania about sixty miles from Lancaster. Eisenhower was one of the two oldest presidents prior to Kennedy (James Buchanan being the other one.) Eisenhower was the last president to be born in the 19th century. He was a Presbyterian who was born in ’90, left office in ’61, and died at the age of 77, at the end of the decade he left office.
Interesting Note: In the midst of the secession crisis leading up to the Civil War, President Buchanan acknowledged the South would be justified in its revolution against the Union. Historians in both 2006 and 2009 voted his failure to deal with secession as the worst presidential mistake ever made. His inability to impose peace when the country was on the brink of the Civil War has led to his consistent ranking by historians as one of the worst presidents.
Interesting Note: Buchanan quietly but consistently bought slaves in Washington, D.C., and then set them free in Pennsylvania.
Interesting Note: Historians agree James Buchanan was the first gay President of the U.S.
Interesting Note: Eisenhower sent federal troops to the South for the first time since Reconstruction to enforce federal court orders to desegregate public schools. Eisenhower often is ranked in the top 10 among all U.S. presidents. Perhaps he learned from his past life.
Interesting Note: Eisenhower trained tank crews at the site of “Pickett’s Charge” on the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Civil War battleground.
— Lincoln was uncharacteristically younger (by 1.5 months) than his Vice President Andrew Johnson.
— Kennedy was uncharacteristically younger (by 8 years, 9 months) than his Vice President Lyndon Johnson.
— Lincoln won the election with less than 50% of the popular vote.
— Kennedy won the election with less than 50% of the popular vote.
— Lincoln was elected on November 8th, for the term in which he was assassinated.
— Kennedy was elected on November 8th, for the term in which he was assassinated.
— The legality of Lincoln’s election was contested (i.e., Southern states seceded from the Union) but Lincoln won anyway.
— The legality of Kennedy’s election was contested but Kennedy won anyway.
— The ’60 incumbent Vice President John Breckinridge, under President James Buchanan ran for President in ’60 and lost to Abraham Lincoln.
— The ’60 incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon, under President Dwight Eisenhower, ran for President in ’60 and lost to John F. Kennedy.
— In ’61, outgoing President, James Buchanan, returned to his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
— In ’61, outgoing President, Dwight Eisenhower, returned to his home in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania near Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Interesting Note: There are a number of coincidences here: (1) Dwight Eisenhower’s farm which was adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania. (2) Eisenhower’s son, John, by coincidence, graduated from West Point on D-Day, June 6, 1944, the day his father (as Supreme Allied Commander) led the largest single-day amphibious invasion of all time. (3) In 1968, John Eisenhower’s son, David, married Richard Nixon’s daughter Julie.
— War was thrust upon Lincoln almost immediately after his inauguration – the Civil War.
— War was thrust upon Kennedy almost immediately after his inauguration – the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba.
Interesting Note: Lincoln was the first president to ever be seen in a photograph at his inauguration. In the photo, he is standing near John Wilkes Booth, his future assassin.
— Lincoln ordered troops to fight in a war (the Civil War) which was unpopular and controversial with a large percentage of the population. Many people fled to Canada to avoid the draft. Around the same time, a revolution was occurring in a neighboring country (Mexico) involving limited U.S. intervention.
— Kennedy ordered troops to fight in a war (the Vietnam War) which was unpopular and controversial with a large percentage of the population. Many people fled to Canada to avoid the draft. Around the same time, a revolution was occurring in a neighboring country (Cuba) involving limited U.S. intervention.
— Lincoln fought against enemies of the U.S. government (Confederates) during the Civil War and kept the United States from splitting apart.
— Kennedy fought against enemies of the U.S. government (Communists) during the Cold War and kept the world from splitting apart from nuclear destruction.
Interesting Note: Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd, had a brother, half-brothers and brothers-in-law who fought on the side of the Confederate Army. Three of Mary’s half-brothers were killed during the war.
— In ’61, Lincoln ordered a military blockade in the Caribbean of Confederate ports.
— In ’62, Kennedy ordered a military blockade in the Caribbean of Communist Cuba.
— In ’61, a military official gave orders against Lincoln’s foreign policy involving Cuba without Lincoln’s knowledge or permission which could have resulted in the U.S. going to war. A U.S. vessel commanded by Charles Wilkes violated U.S. policy established on April 4, 1861. and operated without orders by intercepting the British vessel the RMS Trent which left Cuba with two Confederate diplomats. This action, known as the Trent Affair, almost resulted in a war against Britain.
— In ’61, a military official gave orders against Kennedy’s foreign policy involving Cuba without Kennedy’s knowledge or permission which could have resulted in the U.S. going to war. Kennedy’s CIA chief, Allen Dulles, decided to operate without orders by not revealing the complete military plans on the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba on April 17, 1961, to Kennedy and lied to him about the possibility of U.S. armed forces intervening. The incident, roughly 100 years after the Trent Affair, almost resulted in a war against Cuba.
Interesting Note: For this betrayal, Kennedy fired Dulles and declared he wanted “to splinter the CIA in a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds.” For these actions, conspiracy theorists believe that rogue elements of the CIA and anti-Castro Cubans were responsible for the Kennedy assassination.
— Lincoln established the ’61 Civil War headquarters of his General-in-Chief George McClellan to be a house called Hickory Hill in McLean, Virginia.
— Kennedy bought the house called Hickory Hill in McLean, Virginia.
— In ’62, resulting from the ’61 Trent Affair, Britain placed troops in Canada to prepare for a possible American offensive into Canada bringing the British people to war fever.
— In ’62, resulting from the ’61 Bay of Pigs debacle, the Soviets placed troops and nuclear missiles in Cuba to prepare for a possible American offensive into Cuba bringing Americans to war fever during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
— There is evidence that Lincoln ordered the assassination of a leader from another government. Papers found by Confederate soldiers on the body of a killed military officer close to Lincoln named Ulric Dahlgren contained plans to assassinate Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy.
— There is evidence that Kennedy ordered the assassination of leaders from another government. President Lyndon Johnson told Pierre Salinger, former press secretary to Kennedy, that Kennedy’s assassination was “divine retribution” for his role in the assassinations of Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic and Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam. God, Johnson said, puts his mark on those who do evil. So the killing in Dallas “might very well be God’s retribution to President Kennedy for his participation in the assassination of these two people.”
— Lincoln authorized Union soldiers to seize Arlington House, the Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s mansion in Virginia, during the Civil War. The land where Arlington House is currently located later became Arlington National Cemetery.
— Kennedy is buried in front of Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery.
Interesting Note: Robert E. Lee was married to Mary Anna Custis Lee whose father was President George Washington’s grandson (George Washington Parke Custis).
Interesting Note: Because Lee was regarded as a traitor by Union officers, Arlington was confiscated and used as a graveyard for Union dead. In 1874, the heir to Lee’s estate (Custis Lee) sued the U.S. claiming ownership of Arlington and won. The next year, Custis Lee sold it back to the U.S. at a signing ceremony with Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln who was eventually buried there.
Interesting Note: Approximately one million people lined the route of Kennedy’s funeral procession past the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery. Millions more – almost the entire population of America – followed the funeral on television. In all, 220 foreign dignitaries, including 19 heads of state and government, and members of royal families, from 92 countries attended the funeral. Law enforcement officials later acknowledged how Kennedy’s funeral was the biggest security nightmare they ever faced. It was estimated that between 1964 and 1966, 16 million people visited Kennedy’s grave.
— Lincoln was concerned with the civil rights of black Americans and made his views strongly known in ’63 when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation which freed the slaves.
— Kennedy was concerned with the civil rights of black Americans and made his views strongly known in ’63 when he submitted his civil rights bill to Congress; and in June of that year, delivered his Civil Rights Address on radio and television in which he proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Kennedy evoked Lincoln when he stated, “One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs… are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice… this nation… will not be fully free until all its citizens are free…. Now the time has come for this nation to fulfill its promise.”
Interesting Note: Kennedy appointed more African-Americans to high places of government than any president before him.
— Lincoln quoted Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence phrase “All men are created equal” in his Gettysburg Address.
— Kennedy quoted Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence phrase “All men are created equal” in his book “A Nation Of Immigrants.”
— In ’63, the Russian Tsar sent a fleet of war ships to assist the U.S. President during the American Civil War.
— In ’62, the Soviet Premier sent a fleet of war ships against the U.S. President during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
— On October 3, 1863, Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November 1863. According to tradition, Lincoln’s 10-year-old son, Tad, became fond of a turkey given to the family for a holiday feast. Tad named the turkey “Jack” and begged his father to save the bird. Lincoln did.
— The earliest provable instance of the word “pardon” being used in connection with a presidential Thanksgiving Day bird was a gobbler given to President Kennedy on November 18, 1963 – approximately 100 years after Lincoln’s first Thanksgiving proclamation and just days before his assassination. Kennedy announced he didn’t plan to eat the bird. Newspapers reported the following day how the bird was “pardoned.” Days later, President John “Jack” Kennedy was assassinated.
— On November 19, 1863, Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address.
— On November 19, 1963, Kennedy was invited to speak at the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. But because Kennedy was needed in Texas for political purposes, he sent Vice President Johnson to Gettysburg in his stead. Three days later, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
Interesting Note: Lincoln wrote his Gettysburg Address after his dog ate the original which was a much longer speech. He started out with, “Four score and seven years ago,“ to give him time to think of what to say next while people were busy doing the math in their heads to figure out how many years he was talking about.
— In ’64, a book entitled Mr. Lincoln and the Negroes, by W. O. Douglas, was published.
— In ’64, a book entitled Mr. Kennedy and the Negroes, by Harry Golden, was published.
— Lincoln wanted to switch running mates during his ’64 campaign re-election. Lincoln replaced Hannibal Hamlin with Andrew Johnson.
— Kennedy wanted to switch running mates during his ’64 campaign re-election. He was rumored to have wanted to replace Lyndon Johnson with James Terry Sanford.
— The revolutionary communist Karl Marx wrote to Lincoln in 1865, “Sir: We congratulate the American people upon your re-election by a large majority.” He assured Lincoln the European communist movement was with him.
— Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was a self-proclaimed Marxist.
— Lincoln is considered to be among the greatest of U.S. presidents.
— Kennedy is considered to be among the greatest of U.S. presidents.
— Lincoln and Congress passed the Legal Tender Act of 1862 and the National Banking Act of 1863 empowering the U.S. Treasury to issue interest-free notes called “Greenbacks.” Lincoln was then able to print the millions of dollars he needed and it was debt and interest free.
— In June 1963, Kennedy issued an Executive Order allowing the U.S. government to issue interest-free notes. Kennedy then ordered the U.S. Treasury to print over $4 billion worth of “U.S. Notes” to replace Federal Reserve Notes and eventually end the Federal Reserve System.
— Lincoln sought to make monetary plan permanent; but after he was assassinated the U.S. moved towards a gold standard and the Greenbacks were taken out of circulation.
— Months after Kennedy’s monetary plan went into effect, he was assassinated. The U.S. Notes he had issued were immediately taken out of circulation. Federal Reserve Notes continues to serve as the legal currency of the nation.
— Lincoln’s portrait is engraved on a U.S. coin – the Lincoln Penny. The Lincoln Penny was first issued in 1909 to commemorate Abraham Lincoln’s 100th birthday. It was the first American coin to bear a president’s image on its face. Read about the controversy behind the Lincoln Penny.
— Kennedy’s portrait is engraved on a U.S. coin – the Kennedy Half-Dollar.
Interesting Note: In 1963, the seal of the Lincoln $5 bill was changed from green to red. An urban legend arose claiming this change reflected the nation’s mourning over the assassination of Kennedy.
— Of all of the U.S. coins currently in circulation, the Lincoln Penny is one of the only two coins not having both the front and back designed by the same man. Frank Gasparro designed the reverse side of the Lincoln Penny and was first minted in 1909 and was designed by Victor D. Brenner based on a plaque of Lincoln Brenner did in 1907. The reverse side of the coin changed to the Frank Gasparro design in 1959.
— Of all of the U.S. coins currently in circulation, the Kennedy Half-Dollar is one of the only two coins not having both the front and back designed by the same man. Frank Gasparro designed the reverse side of the Kennedy Half-Dollar. The Kennedy Half Dollar was first minted in 1964.
— In 1867, the Army Medical Library was moved to Ford’s Theater, the site of the Lincoln assassination.
— In 1956, Senator John Kennedy submitted legislation to Congress to transform the Army Medical Library into the National Library of Medicine which eventually became the world’s largest medical library.
— Of the 27 current official presidential memorials, one of them is the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts established on June 1956 in New York City. It is only one of two presidential memorials established for the performing arts.
— Of the 27 current official presidential memorials, one of them is the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts established on December 1964 in Washington, D.C. It is only one of two presidential memorials established for the performing arts.
— Lincoln was greatly vilified in the South during his term in office but became very popular and revered by the public after his death.
— Kennedy was greatly vilified in the South during his term of office but became very popular and revered by the public after his death.
Interesting Note: After the fall of Richmond, Lincoln walked through the city and was immediately recognized by black citizens who crowded around him and knelt before him. Lincoln, famously, told them “Don’t kneel to me. That is not right.” One black woman reportedly told her child to touch Lincoln’s garment and the child’s illness would be healed.
— Lincoln is generally remembered in association with a state capital (Springfield, IL), not his birth place (Hodgenville, KY).
— Kennedy is generally remembered in association with a state capital (Boston, MA), not his birth place (Brookline, MA).
— Lincoln gave African-Americans freedom and legalized their equality with other Americans.
— Kennedy enforced equality for African-Americans with other Americans.
5. Physical Traits
— Lincoln had droopy eyelids which would sometimes cause his left eye to deviate but did not interfere with him. Lincoln’s eyes were said to be gray.
— Kennedy had droopy eyelids which would sometimes cause his left eye to deviate but did not interfere with him. Kennedy’s eyes were greenish gray.
Interesting Note: To read Lincoln’s complete health history, read this fascinating article.
Interesting Note: To read Kennedy’s complete health history, read this fascinating article.
— Lincoln was the second child in the family birth order. The first born sibling (Thomas Lincoln Jr.) was predeceased at the time of election to the House of Congress.
— Kennedy was the second child in the family birth order. The first born sibling (Joseph Kennedy Jr.) was predeceased at the time of election to the House of Congress.
— Lincoln was over 6 feet tall and a notable athlete in wrestling and enjoyed impromptu sport with family members.
— Kennedy was over 6 feet tall and a notable athlete in football and enjoyed impromptu sport with family members. During his school years, Kennedy played baseball as a pitcher (right-handed) and third baseman. He also enjoyed golf, sailing, swimming, and tennis. As a child Kennedy sustained “many injuries and bruises while participating in sports where his physique was inadequate.” For example, when he had a bicycle collision with his brother Joe, Joe walked away unhurt, but JFK needed 28 stitches.
Interesting Note: Lincoln’s great strength was due to his using an ax more or less all day every day from the time he was about 8 years old until he was 23 years old. Once while visiting troops, Lincoln grabbed an ax and began chopping wood. Holding his arm straight out, and with the handle parallel to the ground, he held the seven pound tool motionless. “Strong men who looked on, men accustomed to manual labor, could not hold the same ax in that position for a moment,” wrote Francis Fisher Browne, a Union soldier who authored a biography called The Every-Day Life of Abraham Lincoln. The ax is now in the possession of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Lincoln had the arms of a 7-foot tall man.
Interesting Note: The doctors who did Lincoln’s autopsy were amazed at the condition of his body. Dr. Edward Curtis wrote, “I was simply astonished at the showing of the remains, where well-rounded muscles built upon strong bones told the powerful athlete. Now did I understand the deeds of prowess recorded of the President’s early days.”
Interesting Note: John F. Kennedy smoked 4-5 cigars a day. His preference was for Upmanns or Monticellos.
— Lincoln’s unusual skin color is has been described as “very dark”, “shriveled”, and “leathery” which caused his political opponents to call him a “black Republican” and a “mulatto”. Friends commented how his facial skin was creased and yellow from a young age. The cause of this is unknown. Historians believe Lincoln may have been of Melungeon descent through his mother Nancy Hanks and it was his mixed-race origin which may have been partly responsible for his dislike of slavery. This is supported by the fact that Lincoln was unusually reluctant to talk about his parentage. Lincoln’s law partner and friend, William Herndon, wrote how Lincoln only spoke to him one time about his mother. Lincoln told him his mother, Nancy, was the product of an illegitimate relationship between Nancy’s mother, Lucy Hanks, and a “well-bred” Virginia farmer. According to some historians, the identity of this Virginian is a man named Abraham Enloe who is reported to have privately confirmed it.
— Kennedy’s unusual skin color has been described as “bronzed” which caused some people to mistakenly believe he had a tan year-round. For most North Americans, having a year-round tan is unusual and this raises suspicion of disease. Addison disease, for example, causes bronzing of the skin which is often mistaken for a tan. An Addisonian tan suggests Kennedy’s Addisonism was under-treated despite the use of steroids. Other observers found he had a surprisingly deep tan, or yellowish skin, or skin of a greenish tinge.
— Lincoln was famous for his quick wit, eloquence and for telling hilarious stories and anecdotes. Lincoln’s memory was of sufficient strength that people claimed he never forgot anyone.
— Kennedy was famous for his quick wit, eloquence and for telling hilarious stories and anecdotes. On school entrance exams in 1931, Kennedy scored 119 on an IQ test which is above average intelligence.
— Lincoln had a favorite rocking chair which he sat in at the White House. He enjoyed the rocking chair so much that he would have it taken to Ford’s Theater every time he went to attend a performance. He was sitting in this rocking chair when he was assassinated.
— Kennedy had a special rocking chair for his ailing back which he sat in at the White House. Kennedy originally saw this rocking chair in 1955 at the office of Dr. Janet Travell who suggested he use it to alleviate his back pain. Kennedy enjoyed his rocking chair so much that he would have it brought aboard Air Force One whenever he traveled around the U.S. or the world. Kennedy’s back pain was so bad he often wore a back brace. He was wearing one when he was assassinated. His back brace was partly responsible for his death because it prevented him from bending over thereby allowing his assassin to take a second which hit him in the head.
— Lincoln loved to read great literary works and could recite poetry by heart. Lincoln’s step-mother, Sarah Bush Lincoln, provided the young Lincoln for the first time with books of which he could never get enough of. He memorized a great deal of what he read. One book was the family Bible which he read at times. Other books were The Pilgrim’s Progress, Aesop’s Fables, Robinson Crusoe, and Sinbad the Sailor.
— Kennedy loved to read great literary works and could recite poetry by heart such as the third canto of Dante’s Inferno. One of Kennedy’s favorite poems was “I Have A Rendezvous With Death,” by Alan Seeger.
— Lincoln was one of three presidents who cherished the writings of Shakespeare. Growing up on the frontier, one of the few books he was able to read was the works of Shakespeare which Lincoln cherished throughout his life
— Kennedy was one of three presidents whose cherished the writings of Shakespeare. He would quote Shakespeare from time to time in his comments to the press or notes on reports and memos. The other president who cherished Shakespeare was John Adams.
— Lincoln loved to quote from the Bible. The evidence of Lincoln’s religious faith is clearly located in his writings and speeches. Lincoln scholar Earl Schwartz wrote that his Collected Works are “peppered with biblical references, including several dozen direction quotations.” His “House Divided” Speech is perhaps the best example.
— Kennedy loved to quote from the Bible. A good example can be found at the last dinner of his life in Houston, Texas, when Kennedy told a friend how a combination of biblical references applied to him: “Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” and “Where there is no vision the people perish.”
Interesting Note: Novelist Leo Tolstoy once said of Lincoln: “Of all the great national heroes and statesmen of history Lincoln is the only real giant. Alexander, Frederick the Great, Caesar, Napoleon, Gladstone and even Washington stand in greatness of character, in depth of feeling and in a certain moral power far behind Lincoln.”
— Many of Lincoln’s literary works are considered to be classics. His “House Divided” Speech (1858), Emancipation Proclamation (1862) and Gettysburg Address (1863) are considered to be among America’s most important historical writings.
— Many of Kennedy’s literary works are considered to be classics. His book published in 1956, Profiles In Courage, won a Pulitzer Prize. His other classics are Why England Slept (1940) and A Nation of Immigrants (1964).
— Lincoln was an engaging public speaker whose many speeches are ones with great historical significance such as Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
— Kennedy was an engaging public speaker whose many speeches are ones with great historical significance such as Kennedy’s Inaugural Address where he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” speech.
— Lincoln had an unusual accent and pronunciation peculiar to his native state of Kentucky. His voice has been described as thin, squeaky, high-pitched, falsetto, and piercing. When excited, the pitch went higher still, and sometimes became unpleasant. However, his unusual voice paid off politically because it would carry for hundreds of yards – a distinct advantage in open-air speeches and debates. (Microphones did not yet exist.) For example, at least 15,000 people heard him give the Gettysburg Address and “acres of people” heard his first inaugural address. According to Lincoln scholar Gore Vidal, Lincoln as a legislator could often be heard loudly proclaiming, “Mister Chairman” pronouncing it as “Mister Cheer-men.”
— Kennedy had an unusual accent and pronunciation peculiar to his native state of Massachusetts – particularly Boston. His voice has been described as the “Harvard accent” or the “Boston accent.” However, Bostonians know this accent as the “Kennedy accent,” as no one other than the Kennedys seem to have this particular accent. This accent is separate and distinct from the Boston Brahmin accent associated with the Boston Brahmin aristocracy.
— Lincoln had a habit of not carrying money around with him and was known for constantly borrowing money from his friends.
— Kennedy had a habit of not carrying money around with him and was known for constantly borrowing money from his friends.
— Lincoln received many threatening letters against his life. In the year of his death, Lincoln received over 800 such letters.
— Kennedy received many threatening letters against his life. In the year of his death, Kennedy received over 80 such letters.
— Lincoln appeared to have had no fear of his own mortality.
— Kennedy appeared to have had no fear of his own mortality.
— Lincoln’s maladies included Scarlet Fever, Malaria, depression, digestive disorder (chronic constipation), hypersexuality, sexually transmitted infection (Syphilis), and a genetic disorder of the adrenal glands (MEN 2B). Read this source article.
— Kennedy’s maladies included Scarlet Fever, Malaria, depression, digestive disorder (Colitis), hypersexuality, sexually transmitted infection (Gonorrhea), and a genetic disorder of the adrenal glands (Addison’s Disease). Read this source article.
— In 1860, Lincoln contracted Scarlet Fever which lasted for a few days. Simultaneously, his son Willie was in bed with the same illness.
— In 1920, Kennedy contracted Scarlet Fever and almost died. He was almost three years old at the time.
— At least four people close to Lincoln knew he had chronic constipation at the time. One of them, John Stuart, urged Lincoln to take mercury-containing “blue mass” pills which he did for several months, but stopped, saying they made him “cross.”
— Kennedy had digestive troubles as early as 1934 (age 17). Years later, when he joined the Navy, these were described as “severe spastic colitis.” It is believed the steroid treatment for Kennedy’s colitis began in 1937 and ascribes several later medical problems to complications of steroids.
— Because of a severe health problem (depression), Lincoln would conduct important presidential affairs from locations considered very private (his bed). On March 14, 1865, a sick President Lincoln conducted a cabinet meeting from his bed.
— Because of a severe health problem (back pain), Kennedy would conduct important presidential affairs from locations considered very private (bed and bathtub). According to Kennedy biographer Richard Reeves, Kennedy would hold meetings from his bathtub, giving the orders of the day to assistants sitting on toilets and leaning on sinks.
Interesting Note: Lincoln was called “Old Abe” as early as age 30.
— Historical records suggest Lincoln having a type of cancer affecting his adrenal glands. Lincoln began losing weight in 1860 of which many people wrote concerning his declining appearance and increasing thinness. Casts of his face in 1860 and 1865 show a striking loss of soft tissue. Temporal wasting is present on the 1865 cast. In his last months, Lincoln exhibited symptoms compatible with a genetic cancer syndrome of the adrenal glands.
— Doctors who treated Kennedy’s Addison disease concluded he had a form of the illness which caused a slow atrophy of the adrenal glands. After his diagnosis in 1947, he was given less than a year to live. He was so ill during the sea voyage home from England he was given the last rites of the Catholic Church.
— Lincoln suffered from genetic diseases such as Marfanoid Habitus which accounts for his height, long legs, long arms, long thin feet, long hands, a long thin face, a long thin neck, flat feet, and a “sunken breast”. Lincoln also suffered from depression throughout his life.
— Kennedy suffered from genetic diseases such as Addison disease, which affects the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar and sodium. For all his maladies, Kennedy took a deluge of drugs that often had side effects, including grogginess or even depression. To treat this Kennedy took more still anti-anxiety medications.
Interesting Note: Lincoln’s height and long arms helped him immensely when, in 1842, Lincoln was challenged to a duel after writing unflattering letters to the Springfield newspaper satirizing the state auditor, James Shields. As the challenge, Lincoln was to make the choice of weapons. He chose cow pies. Shields would not be deterred, however, and eventually Lincoln chose to duel with cavalry broadswords. When Lincoln and Shields met at the appointed place, Lincoln picked out a sword and, with his remarkable height and long arms, began slashing at tree branches the shorter Shields could not reach. After this, an accommodation was reached and the duel never took place. Although humorous in retrospect, the affair was deadly serious. Shields later became a Brigadier General and a U.S. Senator from Illinois, Missouri, and Minnesota.
Interesting Note: Another example of Lincoln’s prowess was demonstrated when upon returning from New Orleans in 1828 by boat, Lincoln and a companion were attacked in their sleep by seven men, “with intent to kill and rob them.” Lincoln seized a club, and with his long, powerful arms knocked three of the bandits into the river, then chased the others ashore.
Interesting Note: In 1954, Kennedy received the last rights of the Catholic Church after an infection following spinal surgery.
Interesting Note: Knowledge of Kennedy’s severe health problems were kept hidden from the public eye which would be impossible today given the competitive news atmosphere of today. But throughout Kennedy’s presidency, reporters provided an unusual cloak of privacy around his unusual personal life.
Interesting Note: Kennedy gained weight while president causing his mother to remark in her diary in 1960: “Jack looks unusually well. His cheeks have filled out amazingly since I saw him in June. He has lost that lean Lincolnesque look which I secretly like better.”
— After Lincoln’s death, his sexual habits came into question. According to his law partner and friend William Herndon Lincoln had frequented prostitutes in his young adulthood and had an uncontrollable libido. Herndon went so far to say Lincoln “could scarcely keep his hands off” prostitutes, whom he treated differently than eligible women. At one time Lincoln patronized a whorehouse with some buddies during the Black Hawk War. Lincoln once confessed to Herndon he had been infected with Syphilis in 1835 or 1836. Hearndon, believing both Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln had syphilis, suspected it in the premature death of three Lincoln children.
— After Kennedy’s death, his sexual habits came in to question. According to some sources, Kennedy had an uncontrollable libido and may have been a sex addict. His friends affectionately called him “Mattress Jack.” Kennedy once confided to Britain’s Prime Minister how he would get headaches if he went too long without a woman. Kennedy’s close friend, Senator George Smathers, once remarked, “He has the most active libido of any man I have ever known,” and a fellow congressman observed how “traveling with him was like traveling with a bull.” Kennedy was taking testosterone in 1963 for his endocrine problems and this could have had an enhancing effect on his libido. In 1940 Kennedy became infested with a sexually transmitted disease.
Interesting Note: There have been recent claims about Lincoln causing some people to question his sexuality; specifically that Lincoln was a homosexual. These claims are based on Lincoln having shared a bed with a total of eleven boys and men throughout his life. One of these men was Lincoln’s best friend, Joshua Speed, who shared a bed above Speed’s store for four years. Lincoln often slept with other lawyers when he was traveling the circuit in Illinois. However, it is important to note there was no central heating in the 1800’s and Illinois is extremely cold in the winter. It was not uncommon in those days for an entire family to share a single bed in order to keep warm. Also, beds were somewhat rare in the West at the time; and it was considered very special for a “hotel” on the circuit Lincoln traveled to have two beds. Lawyers would routinely share any available bed. It had nothing to do with sexual preference – just with comfort.
6. Their Families
— Abraham Lincoln was married while in his thirties (age of 33) to a dark-haired woman (Mary Todd) who was within six weeks of her twenty-fourth birthday; who had been previously engaged to someone else; was well educated and came from a socially prominent family; had ancestors from Ireland; was fluent in the French language; was raised with step-brothers and step-sisters and a step-parent; lived in Washington D.C. before her husband’s presidential election; was known for her exquisite taste and fashion sense; and was in the care of a minor son (Tad Lincoln) after the assassination of her husband.
— John Kennedy was married while in his thirties (age of 36) to a dark-haired woman (Jacqueline Bouvier) who was within six weeks of her twenty-fourth birthday; who had been previously engaged to someone else; was well educated and came from a socially prominent family; had ancestors from Ireland; was fluent in the French language; was raised with step-brothers and step-sisters and a step-parent; lived in Washington D.C. before her husband’s presidential election; was known for her exquisite taste and fashion sense; and was in the care of a minor son (John Kennedy Jr.) after the assassination of her husband.
Interesting Note: Lincoln’s father married his first wife, Nancy Hanks, in 1806. She died in October 1818. Lincoln’s stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston, married her first husband in 1806. Her husband died in October 1818. Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd, was born in December 1818.
— Mary Lincoln was at least nine years younger than her husband and survived him by at least seventeen years. She died around the age of sixty-four – exactly 63 years and 215 days.
— Jackie Kennedy was at least nine years younger than her husband and survived him by at least seventeen years. She died around the age of sixty-four – exactly 64 years 295 days.
— Lincoln’s wife was known mostly by her three names: Mary Todd Lincoln.
— Kennedy’s wife was known mostly by her three names: Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (later Jackie Kennedy Onassis).
— Lincoln had a relative (a cousin named Fredrick W. Lincoln) who became Mayor of Boston for an extraordinary number of terms (seven).
— Kennedy had a relative (a grandfather named John F. Fitzgerald) who became Mayor of Boston for an extraordinary number of terms (five).
— Lincoln could trace his ancestors to a suburb of Boston – Hingham – and then to Great Britain.
— Kennedy could trace his ancestors to a suburb of Boston – Winthrop – and then to Great Britain.
— Lincoln was related (a cousin) to a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania Isaac Barnard (1791-1834).
— Kennedy was related (brothers) to a U.S. Senator from New York (Robert Kennedy) and a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (Edward Kennedy).
— Lincoln had a relative (Lincoln’s son Robert) who became Ambassador to the Court of St. James (Britain) and a relative who was Attorney General (Levi Lincoln, Sr. in Thomas Jefferson’s cabinet) who graduated from Harvard University.
— Kennedy had a relative (Kennedy’s father Joseph) who became Ambassador to the Court of St. James (Britain) and a relative who became Attorney General (brother Robert Kennedy) who graduated from Harvard University.
— The only child of the president to have children (Robert Lincoln) had exactly two girls and one boy. The boy (Abraham Lincoln II) was named after his president grandfather who was known as “Jack”. It was claimed Jack was much like President Lincoln. John Kennedy was also known as “Jack”.
— The only child of the president to have children (Caroline Kennedy) had exactly two girls and one boy. The boy (John Schlossberg) was named after his president grandfather who was known as “Jack”.
Interesting Note: “Jack” has traditionally been a nickname for “John”. “Black Jack” was the nickname of Jacqueline Kennedy`s father. “Black Jack” was also the name of the riderless horse serving at the head of Kennedy’s funeral.
Interesting Note: In 1975, President Kennedy’s daughter Caroline was visiting London to complete an art course at Sotheby’s when a bomb, placed by the IRA under the car of her host Hugh Fraser, exploded shortly before they were due to drive to Sotheby’s. Caroline was running late and had not yet left the house. A passerby, however, was killed.
— Lincoln had a brother (Thomas Lincoln Jr.) who died before the presidential election, who had been named after his father, and is buried in an unmarked grave. Thomas Lincoln Jr.’s grave site is unknown except as to general location.
— Kennedy had a brother (Joe Kennedy Jr.) who died before the presidential election, who had been named after his father, and is buried in an unmarked grave. Joe Kennedy Jr. was blown up in a plane and his body was never recovered.
— Lincoln lost a very close sister (Sarah Lincoln) before his election to Congress. Sarah died in 1828 while giving birth to a boy who also died the same day.
— Kennedy lost a very close sister (Kathleen Kennedy) before his election to Congress. Kathleen was killed in an airplane crash in France in 1948.
— In ’61, Mary Todd tastefully and expensively re-decorated the White House after many years of neglect. She was criticized by her husband for her money-spending habits.
— In ’61, Jackie Kennedy tastefully and expensively re-decorated the White House after many years of neglect. She was criticized by her husband for her money-spending habits.
Interesting Note: Mary Todd had a history of public outbursts throughout Lincoln’s presidency, as well as excessive spending which has led some historians and psychologists to speculate Mary suffered from bipolar disorder.
Interesting Note: There are 130 known photographs of Abraham Lincoln; but never once was Lincoln photographed with his wife Mary.
Interesting Note: The Kennedy re-decoration included a decoration of the Treaty Room with printed borders reproducing the wallpaper in the Peterson House where Lincoln died.
Interesting Note: During Jackie Kennedy’s televised 1962 White House tour she referenced Lincoln seven times. This is not surprising because Lincoln was a hero of hers. President Kennedy had inspired in her an interest in American history, one of his favorite subjects, and she had done much reading on Lincoln and the Civil War. That is certainly how she became inspired by Lincoln’s funeral to model her own husband’s funeral.
— Mary Todd had four children, two of whom died before becoming a teen; had three children living in the White House; lost a son (Willie Lincoln) in ’62 while her husband was President, and lost one child (Edward Lincoln, consumption) before the presidential election.
— Jackie Kennedy had four children, two of whom died before becoming a teen; had three children living in the White House; lost a son (Patrick Kennedy) in ’63 while her husband was President, and lost one child (Arabella Kennedy, stillborn) before the presidential election.
Interesting Note: Willie Lincoln (died 1862) was the first child of a president (Lincoln) to die while in office. Patrick Kennedy (died 1963) was the last child of a president (Kennedy) to die while in office. Their deaths occurred around 101 years apart.
— Lincoln had two sons named Edward and Robert. Edward died and Robert lived on. Robert Lincoln married Mary Eunice Harlan.
— Kennedy had two brothers named Edward and Robert. Robert died and Edward lived on. Kennedy had a sister named Eunice Mary Kennedy.
— Lincoln had a child who would ride a pony on the White House grounds and who was allowed to run and play in the Oval Office.
— Kennedy had a child who would ride a pony on the White House grounds and who was allowed to run and play in the Oval Office.
Interesting Note: Throughout his life, Lincoln had several dogs including a dog in the White House named Fido. He also loved kittens and cats. An example of Lincoln’s tender nature was demonstrated when Lincoln once found three stray kittens and gave them to a Colonel and made him promise he would take good care of them. Read the full story of Lincoln and the three kittens.
Interesting Note: The Kennedy White House had many pets around including a dog named Pushinka, a gift from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. The dog’s mother was one of the first dogs in space. Kennedy referred to its pups as “Pupniks.”
— Lincoln’s son Robert graduated from Harvard, later became a lawyer, pursued a non-legal career, served in the Civil War and on the cabinets of two presidents (James Garfield and Chester Arthur, Secretary of War), and was supported to run for president.
— Kennedy’s brother Robert graduated from Harvard, later became a lawyer, pursued a non-legal career, served in World War II and on the cabinets of two presidents (John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, Attorney General), and was supported to run for president.
Interesting Note: Shortly before Lincoln’s assassination, the brother of John Wilkes Booth (Edwin Booth) saved the life of Robert Lincoln when he almost fell off a train platform. See the highly unusual lives of Lincoln and Kennedy later in this article for more details.
— Robert Lincoln was buried at Arlington Cemetery about 400 feet away from the grave of President Kennedy.
— Robert Kennedy was buried at Arlington Cemetery about 800 feet away from the grave of President Kennedy.
Interesting Note: Robert Lincoln was present at the assassinations of three presidents moments after each occurrence: Presidents Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley. See the highly unusual section of this article for more information.
Interesting Note: The last person known to be of direct Lincoln lineage was Robert’s grandson Robert “Bud” Beckwith who died in 1985.
— Lincoln’s youngest surviving son (Tad) died on JULY 16, 1871 after dying from a lung disease. Exactly 10 years before Tad’s burial, on JULY 16, 1861, President Lincoln ordered the first men to the first major battle of the Civil War. Mary Todd Lincoln died on JULY 16, 1882.
— Kennedy’s youngest surviving son (John Jr.) died on JULY 16, 1999 when his plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Exactly 30 years before John Jr.’s death, President Kennedy’s 1961 order to send the first men to the moon was fulfilled on JULY 16, 1969. On July 16, 1963, President Kennedy nominated Abraham Lincoln Marovitz to a seat on the U.S. District Court in Illinois.
— The President’s son (Tad Lincoln) had a birthday near the date of his father’s assassination. Tad turned 12 just ten days before his father was shot.
— The President’s son (John F. Kennedy, Jr.) had a birthday near the date of his father’s assassination. John Jr. turned 3 on the very day of his father’s funeral.
— Of all the Lincoln children, only one survived past the age of 40 – Robert Todd Lincoln.
— Of all the Kennedy children, only one survived past the age of 40 – Caroline Bouvier-Kennedy.
— Lincoln was survived by his stepmother, Sarah Bush Lincoln, who had raised him from the age of nine.
— Kennedy was survived by his mother, Rose Fitzgerald. Rose outlived four of her nine children, dying at the age of 104 in 1995.
— After her husband’s assassination, Mary Todd lived in Europe and in a major U.S. city (Chicago) where she had not lived before during her marriage to the President.
— After her husband’s assassination, Jackie Kennedy lived in Europe (Paris) and in a major U.S. city (New York) where she had not lived before during her marriage to the President.
— A member of Lincoln’s family (Mary Todd) was held to be mentally incompetent and confined to an institution for the insane. After Lincoln’s assassination, Robert Lincoln became alarmed at his mother’s increasing psychological instability. She roamed the streets with cash pinned to her undergarments and went on elaborate shopping sprees, buying truckloads of drapes when she had no home to furnish. At one point she bought 84 pairs of kid gloves in less than a month. In 1875, while staying at a hotel with her son, Robert, she wandered half-dressed into the elevator, mistaking it for the bathroom. When Robert tried to help her return to her room, she screamed her son was trying to murder her. Eventually, a despairing Robert committed her to a psychiatric hospital. She was unable to walk safely without assistance, and eventually paralysis of the legs ensued. A report in 1999 which reviewed the work of her four physicians concluded that her’s was a clear case of an untreated Syphilis infection.
— A member of Kennedy’s family (Kennedy’s sister Rosemary) was held to be mentally incompetent, and confined to an institution for the insane. Considered as either retarded or psychologically unstable, doctors told her father about a new neurosurgical procedure, lobotomy, which would help calm her mood swings and sometimes violent outbursts. At the time, relatively few lobotomies had been performed. In 1941 at age 23, she underwent a prefrontal lobotomy which left her permanently incapacitated. Afterwards, she lived at a private psychiatric hospital and was visited regularly by her mother and by her sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
Interesting Note: Publicly, Rosemary was declared to be mentally handicapped. Perhaps because of this fact, Eunice Shriver later founded the Special Olympics.
— The president’s wife, Mary Todd, died in her sixties after an untimely decline in health, during the administration of a president (Chester A. Arthur) who met her husband in Washington, D.C. the same year as the assassination.
— The president’s wife, Jacqueline Bouvier, died in her sixties after an untimely decline in health, during the administration of a president (Bill Clinton) who met her husband in Washington, D.C. the same year as the assassination.
7. Their Relationships
— Lincoln was the friend of a prominent Illinois Democrat named Adlai E. Stevenson who became the Vice-President under Grover Cleveland.
— Kennedy was the friend of a prominent Illinois Democrat named Adlai E. Stevenson who was the grandson of Lincoln’s Adlai Stevenson and who would twice run for the U.S. presidency in 1952 and 1956.
Interesting Note: Stevenson’s maternal great grandfather, Jesse Fell, served as Abraham Lincoln’s campaign manager in his 1858 race for the U.S. Senate.
Interesting Note: On October 22, 1963, one month before the Kennedy assassination, Adlai Stevenson went to Dallas and was met and spat on by angry right-wing demonstrators, one of whom hit him on the head with a placard denouncing the United Nations. Stevenson warned Kennedy to stay away from Dallas because of the ugliness he found there but his advice was not heeded.
— One of Lincoln’s attending physicians on the night of the assassination was Charles S. Taft. His younger siblings (Horatio, Halsey, and Julia) were constant playmates with Lincoln’s children and frequent White House guests. Dr. Taft removed a lock of Lincoln’s hair and placed it in a ring which eventually came into the possession of President Theodore Roosevelt. He wore the ring in 1905 when he was sworn in as President.
— One of Kennedy’s business relationships was with Charles P. Taft II who was the president of the Committee for a National Trade Policy and the son of President William Taft.
Interesting Note: In 1957, a Senate committee chaired by John Kennedy named Charles P. Taft II’s brother, Robert Taft, as one of the five greatest senators in American history.
— Lincoln had a friend and spiritual advisor named William “Mentor” Graham, an Illinois schoolteacher and Baptist, who helped Lincoln learn the complex language of trigonometry and logarithms.
— Kennedy had a friend and spiritual advisor named William “Billy” Graham, the Baptist evangelist.
Interesting Note: Billy Graham told newsmen he had a strong premonition in a dream for Kennedy not to go to Dallas. Graham attempted to contact Kennedy by phone before he left for Dallas but couldn’t reach him.
— Lincoln’s favorite poet was Robert Burns who was widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide. He is best known for the poem and song “Auld Lang Syne” which is often sung on the last day of the year. Lincoln’s love of Robert Burns’ poetry was so widely known during his presidency he received many invitations to annual celebrations of the Scotsman’s birthday.
— Kennedy’s favorite poet was Robert Frost who was the national poet laureate of America, and is celebrated worldwide. Frost wrote a new poem entitled “Dedication” for special delivery at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. However, he never read it because the sun’s glare upon the snow blinded Frost from seeing the text. Instead, he recited “The Gift Outright” from memory.
Interesting Note: Lincoln’s favorite poet Robert Burns’ last name (BURNS) corresponds with Kennedy’s favorite poet Robert Frost’s last name (FROST) and with one of Robert Frost’s famous poems entitled “FIRE and ICE” where he ponders the world’s end by “FIRE” (desire) and by “ICE” (hate) and concludes either one would suffice. Note the metaphors BURNS-FIRE and FROST-ICE and the possible synchronistic reference to reincarnation.
— In ’61, Lincoln’s Vice President was Hannibal Hamlin (whose monogram was “H. H.”) followed by Andrew Johnson. Hannibal Hamlin returned to serve in the U.S. Senate after leaving the Vice Presidency.
— In ’61, Kennedy’s Vice President was Lyndon Johnson who chose Hubert Humphrey (whose monogram was “H. H.”) for his Vice President. Hubert Humphrey returned to serve in the U.S. Senate after leaving the Vice Presidency.
— Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William H. Seward, served the Lincoln-Johnson Administration from ’61 through ’69.
— Kennedy’s Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, served the Kennedy-Johnson Administration from ’61 through ’69.
— New York Police Superintendent, John A. Kennedy, played a major role in Lincoln’s protection during his 1861 inaugural train trip and also in the investigation immediately following Lincoln’s assassination.
— Kennedy had a secretary was named Evelyn Lincoln whose husband was Harold “Abe” Lincoln. Mrs. Lincoln was in the motorcade when Kennedy was assassinated.
Interesting Note: Lincoln’s Secretary of State telegraphed John A. Kennedy roughly three hours after Lincoln was shot.
Interesting Note: Lincoln never had a secretary named “Kennedy” contrary to urban legend. However, the first name of Lincoln’s private secretary was named John (John Hay) – the same as President John Kennedy.
Interesting Note: Abraham Lincoln hated being called “Abe” – his friends called him “Lincoln.”
Interesting Note: Evelyn Lincoln believed Lyndon Johnson was behind the assassination. She claimed rumors concerning Kennedy’s womanizing were being fed to Johnson from J. Edgar Hoover who was blackmailing Kennedy.
— Lincoln’s personal valet was a black man named William H. Johnson. Johnson was born in 1835 and first met the President in Illinois in early 1860. Johnson traveled with Lincoln and Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, who played a key role by managing Lincoln’s security to to Washington, D.C. On March 16, 1861, Johnson became the President’s messenger to the Treasury Department. On November 18, 1863, Johnson traveled by train with Lincoln to Gettysburg where Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. At the time, Lincoln was leading the nation against Southerners for the Civil Rights of African Americans. Johnson died in 1864 from smallpox. Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 by a conspiracy of Southern sympathizers.
— Kennedy’s personal security agent was the first black man, Abraham William Bolden, to be assigned to a President’s personal Secret Service. Bolden was born in 1935 and first met the President in Illinois in early 1961. He attended Lincoln High School and graduated from Lincoln University. Bolden was with the Pinkerton Detective Agency before entering the Secret Service in 1960. On June 16, 1961, Bolden became the President’s Secret Service agent as part of the Treasury Department at that time. Following the assassination of Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Bolden sought to inform the Warren Commission investigating the assassination about the culpability of some Secret Service agents.
Interesting Note: Kennedy angered many Southerners concerning his Civil Rights policy toward African Americans. Some such Southerners were employed in the Secret Service. Abraham Bolden was framed and unjustly arrested in 1964 on bribery charges as he was on his way to testify before the Warren Commission on Secret Service misconduct. Bolden was denied a retrial in 1965 even though evidence of a conspiracy against him existed against him for attempting to reveal Secret Service secrets.
— In July 1864, President Lincoln visited Fort Stevens and was shown around by the general’s aide, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935). As Holmes pointed out the enemy lines in the distance, Lincoln, wearing his customary stovepipe hat, stood up for a better view – prompting a salvo of musket fire from the enemy trenches. “Get down, you fool!” Holmes shouted, hauling the president under cover. A moment later, having come to his senses, he began to worry that disciplinary action would be taken against him. Lincoln said nothing, however, until he was preparing to leave the fort. “Goodbye, Captain Holmes,” he then declared. “I’m glad to see you know how to talk to a civilian.” Holmes later became a Supreme Court Justice.
— At President Kennedy’s 1961 Inaugural address, Kennedy spoke these famous words: “And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” Many people would be surprised to learn this phrase did not originate with Kennedy. The phrase originated with Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in a Memorial Day address to the Grand Army of the Republic on May 30, 1884: “It is now the moment when by common consent we pause to become conscious of our national life and to rejoice in it, to recall what our country has done for each of us, and to ask ourselves what we can do for our country in return.”
Interesting Note: One of the Confederate commanders at Fort Stevens was Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge who was a former U.S. vice president and one of Lincoln’s opponents in the presidential election of 1860. This battle at Fort Stevens marks the only occasion in American history when two former opponents in a presidential election faced one another across battle lines and the only time in American history a sitting president was under fire in combat. During the Battle of Atlanta, Union officer William Breckinridge captured Major Gen. John C. Breckinridge, his own brother.
Interesting Note: Both Oliver Wendell Holmes and John Kennedy were former residents of Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts – a neighborhood covering approximately one square mile. Edwin Booth, John Wilkes Booth’s brother, is also a former resident.
— Months before his death, Lincoln visited Maryland, Fort Monroe, to discuss the possibility of peace with Confederate representatives.
— Months before his death, Kennedy had a less-than-private affair with Marilyn Monroe. Her song sung to Kennedy, “Happy Birthday, Mister President” only increased public speculation.
8. Their Activists
— Lincoln was close to one of the most important civil rights figures in U.S. history – Frederick Douglass. In ’63, Douglass conferred with President Lincoln on the treatment of black soldiers, and with President Andrew Johnson on the subject of black suffrage.
— Kennedy was close to one of the most important civil rights figures in U.S. history – Martin Luther King, Jr. In ’63, King met with President Kennedy at the White House to discuss black civil rights legislation. In ’64, King attended the White House ceremony of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson.
Interesting Note: Concerning Lincoln, Frederick Douglass said of him, “In all my interviews …. I was impressed by his entire freedom from popular prejudice against the colored race.” In 1872, Douglass became the first African-American nominated as a Vice Presidential candidate. Douglass ran on the Equal Rights Party ticket with Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for U.S. President.
— Frederick Douglass was one of the two most prominent black leaders in American history. Douglass had an impact on some very important people such as President Lincoln. In his day, Douglass led the fight for black rights. The civil rights issue of the Douglass era was the abolition of slavery.
— Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the two most prominent black leaders in American history. King had an impact on some very important people such as President Kennedy. In his day, King led the fight for black rights. The civil rights issues of the King era was the abolition of segregation and discrimination.
— Frederick Douglass warned how racial problems would plague America “until the American people shall make character and not color, the criterion of respectability.” Douglass was a strong advocate of “All men were created equal.” Douglass’ abolitionist movement led to many conflicts – eventually leading to Civil War. Douglass was not afraid of being lynched, punished by jail, or even death.
— Martin Luther King Jr. stressed the importance of judging people not by the color of their skin, but by the “content of their character.” King was a strong advocate of “All men were created equal.” King’s civil rights movement led to widespread demonstrations, riots, and violence. King was not afraid to be punished by jail, persecution, or even death.
— During the Douglass era, blacks in the South were not permitted to have an education. From youth, Douglass yearned for knowledge and knew education was the key to freedom. Douglass was fortunate enough to receive an education even though he was a slave in the South.
— During the King era, blacks in the South were not permitted to have an integrated education. From youth, King yearned for knowledge and knew education was the key to freedom. King was fortunate enough to attend a college in the North. It was the first time he ever attended an integrated school.
— Douglass was known for his great oration skills and famous speeches like his “What to the Slave is your Fourth of July?” speech. Douglass used metaphors such as “the Promised Land” and “Eden”. For example, Douglass wrote how slaves were literally shut out of the master’s garden, a metaphoric “Eden,” by a perverse chief gardener. Douglass criticized the Christianity of southern Christians who endorsed slavery and all its attendant violence and injustice.
— King was known for his great oration skills and famous speeches like his “I have a Dream” speech. King used metaphors such as “the Promised Land” and “Eden”. For example, King proclaimed, “I’ve been to the mountaintop and I’ve seen the promised land.” King criticized the Christianity of Southern churches which endorsed racism. King asked, “What kind of people worship in these churches?”
— On February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born. President Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address in 1863 which was “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal“. He defined the war as an effort dedicated to these principles of liberty and equality for all. The emancipation of slaves was now part of the national war effort. He declared that the deaths of so many brave soldiers would not be in vain, that slavery would end as a result of the losses, and the future of democracy in the world would be assured, that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”. Lincoln concluded that the Civil War had a profound objective: a new birth of freedom in the nation.
— On February 12, 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded on the 100th anniversary of the birth of President Lincoln. In 1963, the year of Kennedy’s assassination, the NAACP organized a March on Washington where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial: “I still have a dream, a dream deeply rooted in the American dream – one day this nation will rise up and live up to its creed, ‘We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal.’ I have a dream…” This event was widely credited for encouraging President Kennedy to initiate the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
9. Their Assassinations
— President Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theater which is now a museum because of the assassination and has been restored to look like the site at the time. Read about Lincoln’s last day alive.
— President Kennedy was assassinated near the Texas Schoolbook Depository which is now a museum because of the assassination and has been restored to look like the site at the time. Read about Kennedy’s last day alive.
Interesting Note: President Lincoln was shot at twice before John Wilkes Booth killed him. Both times were while he was on his way to the Soldier’s Home and Lincoln joked about them and ordered that they not be publicized.
Interesting Note: Kennedy’s grandmother was living in Boston when he was assassinated. She was also alive the year that President Lincoln was assassinated.
— The location of the assassination, Ford’s Theatre, is 511 TEN STREET, NW Washington, DC.
— The location of the assassination, the Texas School Book Depository is 411 ELM STREET, Dallas, Texas. Ford’s Theater and the Texas School Book Depository have addresses with the number 11 in them – an important number in numerology.
— Before assassinating the President, Booth attempted to commit a violent political crime but failed. He tried first to kidnap Lincoln on March 17, 1864 when he learned Lincoln would be attending a play near the Old Soldier’s Home. Booth assembled his team near the area in an attempt to kidnap Lincoln but the President did not appear. Booth later learned Lincoln had changed his plans at the last moment to attend a reception at the National Hotel where, coincidentally, Booth was then living.
— Before assassinating the President, Oswald attempted to commit a violent political crime but failed. He attempted to assassinate retired General Edwin Walker on April 10, 1963 at the old soldier’s home but missed.
Interesting Note: Oswald’s failed attempt to assassinate General Walker occurred almost exactly 99 years after Booth’s attempt to kidnap Lincoln.
— General Ulysses S Grant was spared from assassination by Booth when Grant declined at the last minute Lincoln’s invitation to join him at Ford’s theater.
— General Edwin Walker was spared from assassination by Oswald when the bullet fired by Oswald missed its target and struck the window pane of General Walker’s house. After Oswald killed both President Kennedy and Dallas police officer Tippit, it is believed Oswald was preparing to assassinate General Walker but was caught before attempting to do so.
Interesting Note: General Grant and his wife declined the invitation to see the play with the Lincolns because Mrs. Grant did not like Mrs. Lincoln. On several occasions Mrs. Lincoln would rudely complain to Mrs. Grant when she failed to observe proper protocol to her as First Lady. This led Mrs. Grant to never want to be in her company again. Ironically, had the Grants attended the play with the Lincolns, there likely would have been more security and the assassination might not have ever happened.
— November 19, 1863 is a date made famous when Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
— November 22, 1963 is a date made famous when Kennedy was assassinated – almost exactly 100 years apart (98.5 years) from Lincoln’s assassination.
— A major reason for Lincoln going to Ford’s Theater was to be seen by the media and the public. The newspapers reported that General Grant was going to be at Ford’s Theater with Lincoln that fateful night. But later, Grant decided not to go so. After the assassination, the New York Times reported that Lincoln was reluctant to go to the play; but because of Grant’s cancellation, Lincoln felt obliged to attend.
— A major reason for Kennedy going to Dallas was to be seen by the media and the public. Kennedy went to Texas to shore up political support for his reelection by being seen in the media smoothing over frictions in the Democratic Party between liberals Democrats and Conservative Democrats.
— Lincoln’s last words seconds before he was shot were uttered in response to a comment by one of the women in the group (Mary Todd). She asked the President what Miss Harris would think of them holding hands. Lincoln’s answer was, “She won’t think anything about it.” Notice that Lincoln’s final words were in the negative sense.
— Kennedy’s last words seconds before he was shot were uttered in response to a comment by one of the women in the group (Mrs. Connally). She asked the President, “You can’t say that Dallas doesn’t love you,” to which Kennedy replied, “No, you certainly can’t.” Notice how Kennedy’s final words were in the negative sense.
— Lincoln would travel openly around the country by horse or carriage without guards being present.
— Kennedy would travel openly around the country by convertible with the bubble top down without guards immediately present. Kennedy’s orders were to always remove the bubble top of his 1961 Lincoln Continental on clear days. The bubble top was also removed in order to prevent excessive heat and discomfort to the passengers as was the case in Dallas on November 22, 1963. On that day, Kennedy ordered no Secret Service agents were to ride on the running boards at the rear of the car.
Interesting Note: Lincoln would travel by carriage with his wife, Mary, without guards because they could not hear each other talk for the ”jingling of spurs and the jangling of sabers.” Lincoln often traveled alone at night without guards until a would-be assassin shot off his stovepipe hat in August 1864 and sent him galloping for safety.
— Lincoln exposed himself to danger many times to please crowds and had been shot at before. In August of 1864, Lincoln was almost killed when his hat was shot off his head on one occasion by an unknown assailant.
— Kennedy exposed himself to danger many times to please crowds and had been almost killed during in August of 1943, during World War II.
— Lincoln was fatalistic and disdained bodyguards. He once remarked how easy it would be for an assassin to shoot him. His Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, once complained to Lincoln about his careless manner of exposing himself to potential assassins. Lincoln replied that if anybody desired to assassinate him he did not suppose any amount of care would save him.
— Kennedy was fatalistic and disdained bodyguards. He once remarked how easy it would be for an assassin to shoot him. The day before he was shot, Kennedy mused to his wife, and to that same Kenny O’Donnell, about the ease with which “a man with a rifle” could kill him.
— Lincoln’s security at Ford’s Theater was uncharacteristically weak. Lincoln’s bodyguard was away from his post at the door of the President’s box at Ford’s Theater leaving Lincoln unprotected from his assassin. He left at intermission to go to a saloon giving Booth unobstructed access to the box.
— Kennedy’s security in Dallas was uncharacteristically weak. Kennedy’s bodyguards were away from their posts on the running-boards of the President’s Ford Lincoln convertible leaving Kennedy unprotected from his assassin.
Interesting Note: Hours before Lincoln’s assassination, he signed the order authorizing the creation of the Secret Service.
Interesting Note: Despite his poor character and reasons not clear, on April 3, 1865 John F. Parker was picked for bodyguard duty at the White House. Ironically enough, the letter which informed Parker’s bosses of his new duties was signed by Mrs. Lincoln herself.
Interesting Note: It was only after the Kennedy assassination a law was passed making it a federal crime to murder the President of the United States (U.S. Code Title 18, Chapter 84)
Interesting Note: Because of his bad back, Kennedy would sometimes wear a back brace as he did at the time he was killed. Unfortunately, the back brace kept him erect after Oswald’s first bullet went through his neck. Had he been able to fall forward after this first bullet hit, the second, fatal bullet may have missed him and he may have survived.
— Lincoln had a bodyguard named William Crook in 1865 when Lincoln was assassinated. Crook worked in Washington D.C. as a policeman after serving in the Military (Army). Crook tried to prevent the assassination by trying to persuade Lincoln not to Ford’s Theater. Crook testified in 1865 before a military commission investigating the Lincoln assassination. No bodyguards were reprimanded or disciplined for their failure to protect the president. But the president’s wife, Mary Todd, was bitterly critical of one of the bodyguards (John F. Parker). Some people considered Parker to be part of the conspiracy to kill the president. Crook served more than four U.S. presidents: Lincoln, Johnson (Andrew), Grant, Hayes. Crook died in 1915 within 48 hours of being aged 75 years, 5 months.
— Kennedy had a bodyguard named William Greer in 1963 when Kennedy was assassinated (98 years after Lincoln’s assassination). Greer worked in Washington D.C. as a member of the White House staff while serving in the Military (Navy). Greer tried to prevent the assassination when driving the Ford Lincoln carrying Kennedy in Dallas. He attempted evasive maneuvers when the shots rang out. Greer testified in 1964 before a military commission investigating the Kennedy assassination. No bodyguards were reprimanded or disciplined for their failure to protect the president. But the president’s wife, Jackie, was bitterly critical of one of the bodyguards (William Greer). Some people considered Greer to be part of the conspiracy to kill the president. Greer served more than four U.S. presidents: Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson (Lyndon). Greer died in 1985 within 48 hours of being aged 75 years, 5 months.
Interesting Note: John F. Parker was assigned to guard the entrance to the President’s box on the night of the assassination. But during the intermission, Parker went to a nearby tavern thereby leaving the president vulnerable to assassination. Later that night, Mrs. Lincoln was overheard bitterly complaining to Parker, “So you are on guard tonight, on guard in the White House after helping to murder the President.” Parker then delivered a heartfelt apology to Mrs. Lincoln by stating that he “could never stoop to murder much less to the murder of so good and great a man as the President. I did wrong, I admit, and have bitterly repented.” Mrs. Lincoln told Parker that she would always think he was responsible for the President’s death and angrily dismissed him from the room.
Interesting Note: At the time when Kennedy was being shot, agent Roy Kellerman, who was seated next to Greer, shouted, “Let’s get out of line, we’ve been hit.” But instead, Greer hit the brakes and turned to look at Kennedy, initiating a fatal delay before accelerating the car out of the danger zone. According to Kellerman, “Greer then looked in the back of the car. Maybe he didn’t believe me.” Mrs. Kennedy, Jackie, bitterly complained about Greer that, “Agent Greer had not acted during the crucial moment … He might just as well been Mrs. Shaw (the nanny of John and Caroline). You should get yourself a good driver so that nothing happens to you.” Greer later delivered a heartfelt apology to Mrs. Kennedy.
— Lincoln was shot from behind, in the head, in public, in the presence of his wife seated next to him who was uninjured and who cradled the bullet-torn head of her husband who did not die immediately after being shot in the head.
— Kennedy was shot from behind, in the head, in public, in the presence of his wife seated next to him who was uninjured and who cradled the bullet-torn head of her husband who did not die immediately after being shot in the head. Visit one of the leading websites devoted to the Kennedy assassination. Examine the medical evidence.
Interesting Note: Abraham Lincoln was shot while watching a performance of “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The same play was also running at the Maverick Theatre in Chicago on May 18, 1860, the day Lincoln was nominated for President in there.
Interesting Note: Lincoln was laughing the moment he was shot in the head by Booth.
Interesting Note: Kennedy was shot just a few months shy of the 99th anniversary of the Lincoln assassination.
— Lincoln was given the best medical attention available at the time which included closed chest massage. Lincoln also had artificial respiration and had a leading doctor rushed to his side who could not save the president because the brain was partially destroyed.
— Kennedy was given the best medical attention available at the time which included closed chest massage. Kennedy had artificial respiration and had a leading doctor rushed to his side who could not save the president because the brain was partially destroyed.
— Immediately after Lincoln’s assassination, it was claimed and later discredited that the shot was fired from another direction in Ford’s Theater.
— Immediately after Kennedy’s assassination, it was claimed and later discredited that shots were fired from another direction – the grassy knoll.
— Lincoln died within hours of being shot, although he was for all practical purposes dead when hit in the head with a bullet.
— Kennedy died within hours of being shot, although he was for all practical purposes dead when hit in the head with a bullet.
Interesting Note: The other two assassinated presidents, James Garfield and William McKinley, lived for weeks after they were shot.
— Lincoln was shot in Ford’s Theater while sitting in box seven with another couple of whom one was seriously injured. Major Henry Rathbone was injured in the arm from a knife wound, but not fatally. Clara Harris was uninjured.
— Kennedy was shot in a Ford Lincoln while riding in car seven with another couple of whom one was seriously injured. Governor John Connally was injured in the arm from a gunshot wound, but not fatally. Nellie Connally was uninjured.
Interesting Note: Fifteen people turned down the Lincoln’s invitation to join them at Ford’s Theatre until finally Major Rathbone and his fiancée Clara Harris accepted the invitation.
Interesting Note: Both the rocking chair Lincoln was seated in at Ford’s Theater and Kennedy’s Ford Lincoln are on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
Interesting Note: On April 14, 1956, the last surviving person who was in Ford’s Theatre the night of Lincoln’s assassination on April 14, 1865, passed away. His name was Samuel Seymour and he was 96 years old. He died exactly 91 years to the day of the Lincoln assassination. At the time of the assassination, he was just 5 years old when his godmother took him to Ford’s Theater to see the play. They sat facing opposite the Presidential box and witnessed the assassination and Booth’s leaping onto the stage.
Interesting Note: Kennedy’s Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, was president of the Ford Motor Company before becoming part of Kennedy’s Cabinet. As president of Ford, McNamara came very close to terminating the Lincoln limousine altogether but instead ordered the smaller ’61 Lincoln Continental limousine to be built – the model of Lincoln limousine Kennedy was assassinated in.
Interesting Note: In 1963, President Johnson appointed the future president Gerald Ford to the Warren Commission to investigate the Kennedy assassination.
Interesting Note: In 1962, Oswald and his wife lived with Katherine Ford who was a member of the Russian community in Dallas.
— The date “April 15th” is associated with critical dates in the history of America and the ‘karma” of President Lincoln. When Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina, thereby officially starting the Civil War, Lincoln responded on April 15, 1861, by issuing a public declaration that an insurrection exists for which Lincoln mobilized a Federal Army by calling for a 75,000 militia to stop the rebellion. As a result of Lincoln’s call for volunteers, four southern states seceded from the Union. While the Civil War was happening, Lincoln passed the Revenue Act of 1861 which included a tax on personal incomes – the first in U.S. history – to help pay war expenses. Since 1955, April 15 has been Tax Day on which personal income tax returns are due to the U.S. government. Lincoln died on April 15, 1865, the day after being shot in the head at Ford’s Theatre.
— The date “April 15th” is associated with critical dates in the history of America and the ‘karma” of President Kennedy. Nikita Khrushchev was born on April 15, 1894 and led the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War during the Kennedy Administrastion, serving as premier from 1958 to 1964. On April 15, 1959, without U.S. government invitation or approval, Fidel Castro began a tour of America which directly led to the rapid deterioration of relations between the U.S. government and Castro. On April 15, 1961, U.S. B-26 bombers began the attack on Cuba during the Bay of Pigs invasion; thereby alerting Castro to quickly order his military forces to the area and ultimately defeat the invaders. The Bay of Pigs invasion attempt directly led to Nikita Khrushchev taking actions against Kennedy which led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Other “April 15” disasters within the 20th century include: the Great Mississippi Flood of April 15, 1927, which was the most destructive river flood in the history of the U.S.; and the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912, resulting in the loss of more than 1,500 passengers and crew, making it one of the deadliest maritime disasters in modern history. During the Cold War, nuclear bombs were tested on April 15 by the following nations: the U.S. on April 15, 1952 at a Nevada Test Site; Great Britain on April 15, 1978; and the Soviets on April 15, 1984 at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.
— After Lincoln’s assassination, much trouble came to the couple with the President and his wife. Henry Rathbone later married the woman who was with him, Clara Harris; but her life came to an equally dismal conclusion. Rathbone obtained a post in the foreign service and was stationed with his family in Germany. There he became progressively more depressed and finally murdered Clara. He was committed to a German insane asylum and eventually died there.
— After Kennedy’s assassination, much trouble came to the couple with the President and his wife. Although not disastrous, John Connally became disenchanted with the Democratic Party and switched to the Republican side and became a cabinet member in the Nixon administration, just as the Republican standard-bearers suffered a crushing blow from the Watergate fiasco. Connally himself was harried, but was exonerated.
— Many high government officials were nearby when Lincoln died at the Peterson House, including Vice President Andrew Johnson, although he was not in the room.
— Many high government officials were nearby when Kennedy died at Parkland Hospital, including Vice President Lyndon Johnson, although he was not in the room.
— Lincoln’s wife was forced to wait outside of the room where doctors made unsuccessful attempts to save her husband.
— Kennedy’s wife was forced to wait outside of the room where doctors made unsuccessful attempts to save her husband.
— The First Lady’s clothing which Mary Todd’s wore on the night of the assassination became a symbolic relic because it was stained with the President’s blood. Visit the outstanding Chicago Historical Society’s online display of Lincoln assassination relics.
— The First Lady’s clothing which Jackie Kennedy wore in Dallas became a symbolic relic because it was stained with the President’s blood. For two days after her husband’s death, Jackie refused to remove her blood-stained clothing, and even regretted having washed the blood off her face and hands. The photograph of Jackie wearing her bloody dress while her husband’s casket was loaded unto the plane was an image which shocked the nation. The reason she continued wearing her bloody dress became known when she told Lady Bird Johnson, “I want them to see what they have done to Jack.”
Interesting Note: The National Archives has the original blood-stained theater program which was in Lincoln’s hands when he was shot. The National Archives also has Jackie Kennedy’s bloody dress. Unfortunately, her pink “pill hat” has mysteriously disappeared.
— One particular woman was severely traumatized by the plot to assassinate President Lincoln. Fanny Seward, the daughter of William H. Seward (Lincoln’s Secretary of State), suffered amnesia of the events following the attempted murder of William H. Seward (her father) at the hands of Lewis Paine. Seward was one of the victims in a conspiracy by John Wilkes Booth to assassinate the president and members of his cabinet. Fanny Seward had no memory of raising the window and screaming for help, or shouting “Murder,” in the moments after she saw the assassin Lewis Paine butchering her father with an enormous knife. She was sure her father had been killed.
— One particular woman was severely traumatized by the assassination of President Kennedy. Jackie Kennedy suffered amnesia of the events following the murder of her husband. Jacqueline Kennedy had no memory immediately after her husband’s head exploded in her face as she was peering intently into his face, only inches away, asking, “What’s the matter, Jack?” She does not remember rising to let him fall down on the seat where she had been sitting, or being precipitated onto the rear of the limousine, as it jerked forward, or scrambling back into the seat. She does remember holding her husband’s shattered head together during the frantic ride to the hospital.
— On the day of the assassination, Lincoln was wearing clothes from Brook Brothers.
— On the day of the assassination, Kennedy was wearing clothes from Brook Brothers.
— At least one Governor, William M. Stone of Iowa, played an active role during the Lincoln assassination. Stone was a friend of Lincoln and was present in Ford’s Theatre when Lincoln was assassinated. Stone helped carry the wounded Lincoln across the street.
— At least one Governor, John Connally of Texas, played an active role during the Kennedy assassination. Connally was a friend of Kennedy and was present in the Ford Lincoln limousine when Kennedy was assassinated.
— Lincoln was shot on a Friday before a Christian holiday – Easter.
— Kennedy was shot on a Friday before a Christian holiday – Thanksgiving.
Interesting Note: The significance of Lincoln being shot on Good Friday was not lost on his religious contemporaries who immediately began the Lincoln-Christ comparisons which have continued down to this day.
Interesting Note: Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who was present when Lincoln died, gave perhaps the most celebrated epitaph in American history when he said of Lincoln, “Now he belongs to the AGES.” But a new round of scholarship suggests Stanton actually said, “Now he belongs to the ANGELS.”
— Lincoln died in a building with the initials P and H (Petersen House).
— Kennedy died in a building with the initials P and H (Parkland Hospital).
Interesting Note: During the previous month, John Wilkes Booth rested on the exact same bed upon which Lincoln died. In March 1865 actor Charles Warwick had rented the room and, on a visit with Warwick, Booth fell asleep on the very same bed President Lincoln later died upon.
Interesting Note: The first physician to see Kennedy at Parkland Hospital had delivered Oswald’s baby one month before.
Interesting Note: Both Oswald and Jack Ruby also died at Parkland Hospital.
— Lincoln’s autopsy was performed by military personnel. Lincoln had gross bullet damage to one cerebral hemisphere of his brain. Lincoln’s brain was destroyed by the shot and was removed during a partial autopsy. Lincoln was buried without it.
— Kennedy’s autopsy was performed by military personnel. Kennedy had gross bullet damage to one cerebral hemisphere of his brain. Kennedy’s brain was destroyed by the shot and was removed during a partial autopsy. Kennedy was buried without it.
— Photographs of Lincoln’s body were forbidden by a cabinet member, Edwin Stanton, but photos of the body were published in later years.
— Photographs of Kennedy’s body were forbidden by a cabinet member, Robert Kennedy, but photos of the body were published in later years.
— Conspiracy theories surrounding the Lincoln assassination and a government cover-up became popular in the eyes of the public.
— Conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy assassination and a government cover-up became popular in the eyes of the public.
Interesting Note: On the day of Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas, Richard Nixon was also in Dallas meeting with Pepsi-Cola executives who were seeking to regain its cheap sugar interests in Cuba taken away by Fidel Castro.
Interesting Note: Historical facts concerning the Lincoln assassination had a profound effect upon one of the two Kennedy assassination pathologists, Dr. James Humes, who performed the autopsy of President Kennedy on that fateful day. So much so, it led to Dr. Humes burning his original autopsy notes the next day – an act which conspiracy theorists use to support their idea of a cover-up. What was the reason Dr. Humes burned his original autopsy notes? He stated he once saw the Ford Museum’s exhibit of the blood-stained rocking chair in which President Lincoln was assassinated in and was “appalled at this type of display”. Dr. Humes goes on to say: “When I saw that my own notes were stained with Kennedy’s blood, I vowed that this type of revolting object would not fall into the wrong hands. I burned the notes that night in my fireplace.”
Interesting Note: A memo from FBI head J. Edgar Hoover was found which said, “Mr. George Bush of the CIA had been briefed on November 23rd, 1963 about the reaction of anti-Castro Cuban exiles in Miami to the assassination of President Kennedy.” (Source: The Nation, 8/13/88). On the day of the assassination Bush was in Texas, but he denies knowing exactly where he was. Since he had been the supervisor for the secret Cuban teams, headed by former Cuban police commander Felix Rodriguez, since 1960, it is likely Bush was also in Dallas in 1963.
Interesting Note: The above information reveals an astonishing coincidence. On November 22, 1963, a total of four U.S. Presidents were in Dallas, Texas (three of whom became future U.S. Presidents): The four Presidents were John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and George H.W. Bush. Another future U.S. President, Gerald Ford played an important role in the Kennedy assassination when he was appointed to the Warren Commission by President Johnson in November 1963.
— One particular conspiracy theory holds that Lincoln’s Vice President, Andrew Johnson, was knowledgeable about Lincoln’s assassination beforehand. In a letter to a friend, Mrs. Lincoln wrote “…that, that miserable inebriate Johnson, had cognizance of my husband’s death – Why, was that card of Booth’s, found in his box, some acquaintance certainly existed – I have been deeply impressed, with the harrowing thought, that he, had an understanding with the conspirators and they knew their man… As sure, as you and I live, Johnson, had some hand, in all this…”
— One particular conspiracy theory holds that Kennedy’s Vice President, Lyndon Johnson was knowledgeable about Kennedy’s assassination beforehand. Johnson was accused of complicity in the assassination by former CIA agent and Watergate figure E. Howard Hunt. Shortly before his death in 2007, Hunt authored an autobiography suggesting Johnson had orchestrated the killing with the help of CIA agents who had been angered by Kennedy’s actions as President.
— Critics of the prevailing Lincoln assassination theory attempted to convince the public into suspecting a larger assassination plot existed. Skillful innuendo at the time suggested the involvement of other, unspecified, plotters which intrigued Lincoln assassination buffs but have never been proven true. To this date, no other theory hasn’t even approached the level to which author Otto Eisenschiml raised in his provocative 1937 book on the Lincoln assassination where he proposed how a senior member of Lincoln’s Cabinet (Edwin Stanton) orchestrated the plot to kill the President.
— Critics of the prevailing Kennedy assassination “lone nut” theory attempted to convince the public into suspecting a larger assassination plot existed. Skillful innuendo suggests the involvement of other, unspecified, plotters which have intrigued Kennedy assassination buffs but have never been proven true. Other conspiracies involve a New Orleans plot, the CIA, a shadow government, the military-industrial complex, the Secret Service, Lyndon Johnson, George H.W. Bush, the Cuban exiles, the Mafia, Fidel Castro, the Soviets, the Israelis, and the Federal Reserve.
— Two major investigations were conducted into the assassination of the President. The first investigation concluded there probably was a conspiracy involving Jefferson Davis, but there was not enough conclusive evidence. The second investigation concluded there was probably a wider conspiracy without resolving who exactly was involved.
— Two major investigations were conducted into the assassination of the President. The first investigation (by the Warren Commission) concluded there was no conspiracy involving Oswald and there was conclusive evidence he acted alone. The second investigation (by the House Select Committee on Assassinations) concluded there was probably a wider conspiracy without resolving who exactly was involved.
— The Lincoln assassination inquiry was reopened in 1868 during the impeachment of Andrew Johnson over his firing of Secretary Stanton. None of the further investigations or inquiries resolved who else may have been involved in the assassination.
— The Kennedy assassination inquiry was reopened in 1968 by medical experts appointed by Attorney General Ramsey Clark to examine assassination evidence. None of the further investigations or inquiries resolved who else may have been involved in the assassination.
— Many conspiracy theories about the Lincoln assassination still exist today but are unproven, some of which suggest possible involvement by prominent persons. The official version of the assassination is in dispute and conspiracy theories concerning his death have been hotly debated for many decades, and have never been resolved satisfactorily in the mind of the public.
— Many conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination still exist today but are unproven, some of which suggest possible involvement by prominent persons. The official version of the assassination is in dispute and conspiracy theories concerning his death have been hotly debated for many decades, and have never been resolved satisfactorily in the mind of the public.
— More is known today about President Lincoln because of his assassination. Lincoln became very popular after death and a number of books were written about him by people who knew him and could detail many personal incidents which would have been otherwise lost to history but for the sudden increase in public interest and fame. Lincoln’s son, Robert, tried to suppress many of these books.
— More is known today about President Kennedy because of his assassination. Kennedy became very popular after death and a number of books were written about him by people who knew him and could detail many personal incidents which would have been otherwise lost to history but for the sudden increase in public interest and fame. Kennedy’s brother, Robert, tried to suppress many of these books.
— Shortly after Lincoln’s assassination, the telegraph system in Washington D.C. mysteriously shut down, thus delaying the news of Booth’s escape.
— Shortly after Kennedy’s assassination, the telephone system in Washington D.C. mysteriously shut down.
Interesting Note: Read about all the bizarre events which occurred after Lincoln’s assassination.
Interesting Note: When Kennedy was assassinated television networks went on 24 hour coverage for the first time in history.
— Some people involved with the assassination of Lincoln received financial rewards. Boston Corbett and others received rewards for the capture of Booth. Corbett was immediately arrested for violation of Stanton’s order not to kill Booth, but Stanton later had the charges dropped. Corbett received roughly $1,653 in reward money for his part in capturing Booth.
— Some people involved with the assassination of Kennedy received financial rewards. Abraham Zapruder sold his film of the assassination for the financial reward of $150,000 to Life Magazine. Zapruder gave the first $25,000 to the widow of Dallas policeman J.D. Tippit who was murdered on the same day as Kennedy. Read the fascinating details behind the Zapruder film.
Interesting Note: Zapruder’s first name is the same as Lincoln’s first name: Abraham.
Interesting Note: On September 1, 1960, years before Kennedy’s assassination, the son of Abraham Zapruder (Henry Zapruder) sent a letter to Kennedy suggesting an academy for training members of the diplomatic corps. Then on November 22, 1963, Henry Zapruder had just heard the news of Kennedy being shot and wounded. Zapruder’s father, whose name was Abraham, called and said, “The President is dead.” The younger Zapruder protested he had just heard on the radio that Kennedy was on his way to the hospital. “No,” said his father. “He’s dead.” Zapruder senior explained how he had seen JFK’s head explode through the lens of his home movie camera. The night after the assassination, Zapruder is said to have had a nightmare in which he saw a news stand in Times Square advertising “See the President’s head explode!” Although he made a profit from selling the film, he was so disturbed by the nightmare he filmed, he did not keep a copy of it. Nor did he ever own or use another camera again. Zapruder died in 1970 from carcinoma.
— Lincoln’s assassination became a highly traumatic cultural tragedy which resulted in a flood of historical, journalistic, fictional and even poetical responses which, taken all together, left Americans with a very large psychological wound which can even be felt today.
— Kennedy’s assassination became a highly traumatic cultural tragedy which resulted in a flood of historical, journalistic, fictional and even poetical responses which, taken all together, left Americans with a very large psychological wound which can even be felt today.
— Numerous movies have been produced about the assassination of Lincoln, while the other presidential assassinations have been virtually ignored. One particular contemporary movie about the assassination, The Lincoln Conspiracy, proposes as fact a possible conspiracy theory widely disputed and unproved.
— Numerous movies have been produced about the assassination of Kennedy, while the other presidential assassinations have been virtually ignored. One particular contemporary movie about the assassination, Oliver Stone’s “JFK”, proposes as fact a possible conspiracy theory widely disputed and unproved.
— The late John Lattimer, Ph.D., was an expert in both the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations. He accumulated one of the world’s largest archives of materials concerning the Lincoln assassination – even keeping a secret archive of Lincoln items. Lattimer was a compulsive collector with an obsession for Lincoln’s possessions.
— The late Evelyn Lincoln, Kennedy’s secretary, accumulated one of the world’s largest archives of materials concerning the Kennedy assassination – even keeping a secret archive of Kennedy items. After Evelyn Lincoln’s death, hundreds of Kennedy related items were offered up for auction which prompted John Jr. and Caroline Kennedy to break their silence and publicly denounce her actions in March 1998. “It is now clear that Mrs. Lincoln took advantage of her position as our father’s secretary … by taking home with her countless documents and objects that belonged to our father and the United States government.” According to Paul G. Kirk, chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, Mrs. Lincoln was “a compulsive collector” whose “obsession” with President Kennedy’s possessions and writings led her to the delusion that even the most personal effects, letters and most significant historical writings were hers to keep or give away.”
Interesting Note: In 1972, the Kennedy family chose Dr. John Lattimer to examine the autopsy evidence related to the Kennedy assassination. He became the first medical specialist not affiliated with the government to do so.
10. Their Assassins
— John Wilkes Booth was born in ’38. As an adult, he stood 5 feet, 8 inches tall. He was an excellent swordsman and is one of the most notorious assassins in recorded history.
— Lee Harvey Oswald was born in ’39. As an adult, he stood 5 feet, 8 inches tall. He was an excellent sharpshooter and is one of the most notorious assassins in recorded history.
— Booth was known by all of his three names – John Wilkes Booth. His middle name was derived from a distant relative.
— Oswald was known by all of his three names – Lee Harvey Oswald. His middle name was derived from a distant relative.
— Booth came from a broken home and lacked a strong father figure in his life. His father died when Booth was a child. Booth was survived by his mother.
— Oswald came from a broken home and lacked a strong father figure in his life. His father died when Oswald was a child. Oswald was survived by his mother.
Interesting Note: According to Dr. Fred B. Charatan, the former New York’s health commissioner, all seven presidential assassins, including those who attempted assassinations, and the killers of Reverend Martin Luther King and Senator Robert Kennedy, were “lacking fathers through death, divorce, work schedule, or a very poor paternal relationship.”
— Booth had two older brothers whose acting careers he coveted.
— Oswald had two older brothers whose military careers he coveted.
— Booth had a family member named June. His brother was born with the name Junius; but he was called in the family by his nickname, June.
— Oswald had a family member named June – Oswald’s first daughter.
— Booth was the “junior” in the family. Booth’s older brother Junius was named after his father.
— Oswald was the “junior” in the family. Oswald’s older brother Robert was named after his father.
Interesting Note: Booth’s brother, Edwin, once saved the life of President Lincoln’s son Robert. Read the details further down in this article.
Interesting Note: Booth gave Lincoln’s son a rose. Once when Lincoln’s son Tad saw Booth perform, he said the actor thrilled him, prompting Booth to give the president’s youngest son a rose. Booth ignored an invitation to visit Lincoln between acts, however.
— Booth’s father, Juinius Brutus Booth, was named after a famous traitor, Brutus of Julius Caesar’s fame.
— Oswald’s father, Robert Edwin Lee Oswald, was named after a famous traitor, Confederate General Robert E. Lee who was also John Wilkes Booth’s commander-in-chief.
— Robert E. Lee’s application for U.S. citizenship was not recognized. At the end of the Civil War, former Confederate General Robert E. Lee sought to have his U.S. citizenship restored. So on October 2, 1865, Lee signed and submitted an application but the document was never recognized. Five years later, before his U.S. citizenship could be restored, Lee died, and his Confederate citizenship was not renounced. Then in 1975, one hundred years later, President Gerald Ford signed a bill restoring Lee’s citizenship posthumously.
— Lee Harvey Oswald’s application for Soviet citizenship was not recognized. At the height of the Cold War, Lee Harvey Oswald applied for Soviet citizenship on October 16, 1959. Five days later, his application for Soviet citizenship was never recognized and his U.S. citizenship was not renounced.
— Booth had a scar on the left side of his neck which was three inches below the ear. Shortly before the assassination, Booth underwent surgery and had a tumor removed from his neck which, according to Booth himself, “was a hole in my neck you can run your fist in.”
— Oswald had a scar on the left side of his neck which was three-inches long. When he was a child, Oswald had mastoidectomy surgery which left the scar.
— In 1859, Booth was determined to attend the trial of abolitionist John Brown in Virginia. He bought a Virginia military uniform and infiltrated the Virginia militia unit guarding John Brown. When John Brown was hanged, Booth stood at the foot of the scaffold.
— In 1956, Oswald enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps headquartered in Virginia. For a detailed timeline of the important events in Oswald’s life visit Dr. John McAdams JFK website.
— In October 1860, Booth accidentally shot himself when the pistol he was cleaning accidentally discharged striking him in the thigh and nearly missing his femoral artery. It took weeks of recuperation until he was able to return to work.
— In October 1957, Oswald accidentally shot himself when a pistol fell from his locker to the floor and accidentally discharged striking him in the upper arm. It took weeks of recuperation until he was able to return to work.
— Booth’s mother thought her son was a spy for the Confederate military.
— Oswald’s mother thought her son was a spy for the U.S. military.
— Booth seemed to have been involved in military intelligence work.
— Oswald seemed to have been involved in military intelligence work.
— During Booth’s lifetime, the most controversial issue in America was over Confederate slavery. Booth wrote a speech about the issue, a rough draft with spelling errors, but never delivered it. It was this issue which motivated Booth to kill Lincoln.
— During Oswald’s lifetime, the most controversial issue in America was over Communism. Oswald wrote a speech about the issue, a rough draft with spelling errors, but never delivered it. It was this issue which motivated Oswald to kill Kennedy.
Interesting Note: Lincoln is quoted as saying, “Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.” Lincoln also once said, “As I would not be a SLAVE, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.”
Interesting Note: Kennedy is quoted as saying, “There are many people in the world who really don’t understand – or say they don’t – what is the great issue between the free world and the Communism world. Let them come to Berlin!”
Interesting Note: After her husband’s assassination, Jackie Kennedy lamented, “He didn’t even have the satisfaction of being killed for civil rights. It had to be some silly little Communist.”
— Booth was fond of writing his thoughts down in a diary, some of which disappeared or were destroyed while under federal possession.
— Oswald was fond of writing his thoughts down in a diary, some of which disappeared or were destroyed while under federal possession.
— Booth was a Southerner who favored extremist views and was a dedicated enemy sympathizer with a craving for fame.
— Oswald was a Southerner who favored extremist views and was a dedicated enemy sympathizer with a craving for fame.
— Booth was arrested and jailed for a petty crime. In ’63, a provost marshal in St. Louis arrested Booth for making anti-government remarks. Booth was briefly detained, then paid a fine and let go.
— Oswald was arrested and jailed for a petty crime. In ’63, Oswald was arrested in New Orleans for disturbing the peace while distributing anti-government literature and fighting with another man. Oswald was briefly detained, then posted bail and let go.
— Booth traveled to more places than most people at the time: New Orleans, New York City, Washington DC, Maryland, Philadelphia, Virginia, Boston; Chicago; Ohio, Missouri; Georgia; Alabama, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia, and Canada.
— Oswald traveled to more places than most people at the time: New Orleans, New York City, Texas, California, Japan, Philippines, France, England, Switzerland, Finland, Soviet Union, and Mexico.
— Booth was believed to be a mentally unstable fanatic who was a lone assassin in search of national attention. Booth wrote in his diary how, “that one blow would have made me great” and, “Something decisive and great must be done.”
— Oswald was believed to be a mentally unstable fanatic who was a lone assassin in search of national attention. While living in Moscow, Oswald told Priscilla Johnson McMillan, “I want to give the people of the United States something to think about.”
— Booth was a traitor to the U.S. government and was a known sympathizer to enemies of the U.S.
— Oswald was a traitor to the U.S. government and was a known sympathizer to enemies of the U.S.
— Booth traveled to enemy territory (the Confederate state of Virginia) and put a uniform on pretending to be a soldier so he could witness the hanging of John Brown in 1859.
— Oswald traveled to enemy territory (the Soviet Union) and wrote to his brother saying, “In the event of war I would kill any American who put a uniform on in defense of the American Government.”
— Booth stayed in New Orleans visiting an uncle shortly before the assassination.
— Oswald stayed in New Orleans visiting an uncle shortly before the assassination.
— In October of ’64, Booth was out of the country in Montreal, Canada, visiting with Confederate spy officials.
— In October of ’63, Oswald was out of the country in Mexico City, Mexico, visiting with Communist embassy officials (Russian and Cuban).
— Days before the assassination, Booth attempted to kill President Lincoln when he urged Lewis Powell to shoot the President on the spot for announcing his support of giving suffrage to former slaves. Powell refused to do so.
— Days before the assassination, Oswald attempted to kill General Edwin Walker when he fired a shot at him through the window of his home. Walker was an outspoken segregationist who was relieved of his command in 1961 by President Kennedy for distributing racist literature to his troops.
— Booth spent his last days living in a hotel all alone in a single room and was estranged from the woman in his life.
— Oswald spent his last days living in a rooming house all alone in a single room and was estranged from the women in his life.
— Jefferson Davis was the president of the Confederate states.
— Jefferson Davis Tippit was the police officer Oswald murdered shortly after murdering Kennedy.
Interesting Note: Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were born less than eight months of each other and less than 100 miles apart.
Interesting Note: Jefferson Davis Tippit was a near double for JFK. So much so, his nickname was “JFK.”
Interesting Note: Officer Jefferson Davis Tippit was killed by Oswald two blocks south of Davis Street and one block north of Jefferson Blvd. The streets run almost parallel and were named after Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president.
Interesting Note: Charles Darwin was born on the same day and year as Abraham Lincoln – February 12, 1809 – and roughly four hours apart. These two great “Emancipators” were religious “non-believers” in a world were both Biblical slavery and Biblical creationism were the status quo. They became near-mythic figures in the 19th century for their imposing and radical visions. They were astrological “twins” born under the sign of Aquarius and whose birth chart foretold they would tend to be free-spirited, stubborn, visionary, rebellious, tolerant, genial but remote and detached. Other parallels between the lives of these two great men can be found throughout the Internet.
— Booth was a frustrated, self-important attention seeker with a grandiose self-image who drew no boundary between his small life and important affairs of state and who seemingly had an overwhelming desire to make history no matter what the price. Read a good psychological profile of Booth.
— Oswald was a frustrated, self-important attention seeker with a grandiose self-image who drew no boundary between his small life and important affairs of state and who seemingly had an overwhelming desire to make history no matter what the price. Read a good psychological profile of Oswald.
— Booth was in his mid-twenties when he murdered the President.
— Oswald was in his mid-twenties when he murdered the President.
— Booth learned from a newspaper his intended victim would be coming to him at his place of employment.
— Oswald learned from a newspaper his intended victim would be coming to him at his place of employment.
— Booth made physical changes to his work area beforehand so that no one outside of the presidential box could see him kill the president.
— Oswald made physical changes to his work area beforehand so that no one outside of the sniper’s nest could see him kill the president.
— Booth assassinated the President while at his place of employment – Ford’s Theater.
— Oswald assassinated the President while at his place of employment – the Texas School-Book Depository.
Interesting Note: Lincoln watched Booth perform Richard III on April 11, 1863, precisely two years and three days before the actor shot him. Lincoln even expressed an interest in meeting the performer who would become his murderer.
— Booth used a 2.5 inch long barreled pistol to kill Lincoln. Boston Corbett used a Colt revolver to kill Booth.
— Oswald used a 2.5 inch long barreled pistol (38 Smith and Wesson revolver) to kill police officer J.D. Tippit. Jack Ruby used a Colt revolver to kill Oswald.
Interesting Note: The handgun Kennedy used to announce his location after his PT-401 shipwreck was a .38 Smith and Wesson revolver.
— After Booth shot the President, he stood boldly on stage before a captive audience and proclaimed the actions he had taken.
— After Oswald shot the President, he stood boldly on stage before news cameras and a captive audience and proclaimed the actions he had taken.
Interesting Note: At one point during a performance in November of 1864, Booth was said to have shaken his finger in Lincoln’s direction as he delivered a line of dialog. Lincoln’s sister-in-law, sitting with him in the same presidential box where he would later be slain, turned to him and said, “Mr. Lincoln, he looks as if he meant that for you.” The President replied, “He does look pretty sharp at me, doesn’t he?”
— Booth’s infamous act of murder dramatically altered the course of the nation in the aftermath of the assassination of the President.
— Oswald’s infamous act of murder dramatically altered the course of the nation in the aftermath of the assassination of the President.
Interesting Note: It is highly ironic how a U.S. flag was greatly responsible for John Wilkes Booth’s demise. The Confederate sympathizer/spy broke his leg after catching a spur in the U.S. flag draping the balcony where Lincoln sat. Had Booth not tripped and broken his leg, there was a good chance he would have gotten away.
11. Their Assassin’s Escape
— Booth was aided in the conspiracy by a man named Lewis (Powell) Paine.
— Oswald got his job at the Texas School-book Depository through the aid of Ruth Paine, his landlady.
— The concession operator at Ford’s Theater where Booth fled was Joseph Burroughs. Joseph “Peanuts” Burroughs was given the duty of guarding the stage-door during plays, and was a part-time concessions operator at Ford’s Theatre. Burroughs testified how on the night of the assassination Edmund Spangler told him to hold Booth’s horse. When Burroughs replied, “I had to go in to attend my door,” Spangler told him he should hold the horse anyway and “if there was anything wrong to lay the blame on him.” During Booth’s escape from the theater, Spangler opened a rear door and Booth rushed out to the horse being held for him by Burroughs. Booth mounted the horse and disappeared into the Washington darkness.
— The concession operator at The Texas Theater where Oswald fled to was Butch Burroughs.
Interesting Note: When Oswald was captured at the Texas Theater, the movie playing was “War is Hell” starring Baynes Barron who was born on May 29, 1917, the same day and year President Kennedy was born – and roughly 200 miles away from each other.
Interesting Note: The phrase “War is hell” was coined by one of President Lincoln’s Civil War generals – William Tecumseh Sherman – whose capture of the city of Atlanta was such a military success it significantly contributed to the re-election of President Lincoln.
Interesting Note: The last movie which Kennedy saw in the White House before his ill-fated trip was ironically “From Russia With Love” on November 20, 1963. The Ian Fleming’s novel was also among Kennedy’s ten favorite books of all time according to Life Magazine. “From Russia With Love” was released with “War is Hell” as the second feature of a double bill.
— Booth shot the President in a theater and then fled to a warehouse (a tobacco barn).
— Oswald shot the President from a warehouse (a book depository) and then fled to a theater.
Interesting Note: Oswald entered the theater without paying and this aroused the suspicions of the theater manager which led to Oswald’s arrest and later murder by Jack Ruby.
— Booth suffered an injury while in a theater when trying to escape his captors. After shooting the president, Booth broke his left leg when he jumped from the presidential box fleeing Ford’s Theater.
— Oswald suffered an injury while in a theater when trying to escape his captors. After shooting the president, Oswald was punched in the face by a Dallas policeman when he attempted to flee the Texas Theater.
— Booth was detained by an officer named Baker. Lieutenant Luther B. Baker was the leader of the cavalry patrolman who detained Booth at Garrett’s barn.
— Oswald was detained by an officer named Baker. Officer Marrion Lewis Baker, a Dallas motorcycle patrolman, briefly detained Oswald on the second floor of the School-book Depository.
— Booth was briefly detained and released at the Navy Yard Bridge over the Anaconda River by an armed sentry named Sergeant Cross after shooting the President because the alarm for finding the assassin was not yet given. Booth was released after telling the sentry he was a legitimate resident of the area on the other side of the river.
— Oswald was briefly detained and released in the Texas School Book Depository by an armed policeman (Baker) after shooting the President because the alarm for finding the assassin was not yet given. Oswald was released by an policeman after being told he was a legitimate worker in the building.
— Booth was aided in his escape from Washington by Oswell Swann and Lewis Paine.
— Oswald got his job at the Texas School Book Depository with the help of Ruth Paine, his landlady.
— Booth escaped to Dr. Samuel Mudd‘s house where Mudd set, splinted and bandaged Booth’s leg.
— Emmy Award-winning journalist Roger Mudd is a descendent of Dr. Samuel Mudd. At the moment Oswald was shot, Roger Mudd was on television doing a news piece for CBS News. By the time Mudd was finished, CBS missed its live broadcast from the basement of the Dallas Police Department of Oswald being murdered.
12. Their Assassin’s Death
— Booth’s killer, Boston Corbett, was reared in the North (New York), was a private in the U.S. Army. Was thought to be psychotic and prone to violence. He was a bachelor who castrated himself “to avoid the temptations of prostitutes.” Read about the bizarre story of Boston Corbett.
— Oswald’s killer, Jack Ruby, was reared in the North (Illinois), was a private in the U.S. Army. He was thought to be psychotic and prone to violence. He was a bachelor who was purported to be a trafficker in prostitutes.
— Boston Corbett had his name changed from Thomas Corbett.
— Jack Ruby had his name changed from Jacob Rubenstein.
— Booth was killed in the same month (April 26, 1865) as his victim (Lincoln) in a state (North Virginia) adjacent to the state of their birth (Maryland).
— Oswald was killed in the same month (November 24, 1963) as his victim (Kennedy) in a state (Texas) adjacent to the state of their birth (Louisiana).
— Booth was killed with a single bullet from a Colt revolver and bled to death.
— Oswald was killed with a single bullet from a Colt revolver and bled to death.
Interesting Note: After Booth was shot, he begged the solders to tell his mother he died for his country. Then he asked the soldiers to lift his paralyzed hands to his face when he whispered his last words, “Useless, useless!”
Interesting Note: Oswald’s last words were, “There ain’t nobody gonna shoot me.” Moments later Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby.
Interesting Note: Single pistol bullets rarely kill their victims (Lattimer, p.363)
— Booth was killed in a blaze of light from a fire set in front of a burning barn.
— Oswald was killed in a blaze of light bulbs in front of television cameras.
— Booth died while in police custody before going to trial, before he could learn the full outcome of his murderous act, and before his version of events could be told.
— Oswald died while in police custody before going to trial, before he could learn the full outcome of his murderous act, and before his version of events could be told.
— Booth survived for about two hours after being shot.
— Oswald survived for about two hours after being shot.
— An autopsy was performed to validate Booth’s identity.
— An autopsy was performed to validate Oswald’s identity.
— Booth’s fame as Lincoln’s assassin came posthumously because Booth was killed before it was known for certain he was the assassin.
— Oswald’s fame as Kennedy’s assassin came posthumously because Oswald was killed before it was known for certain he was the assassin.
— Access to Booth’s body came under extremely tight security after the assassination. Even his family had unusual difficulty accessing his body..
— Access to Oswald’s body came under extremely tight security after the assassination. Even his family had unusual difficulty accessing his body.
— Some conspiracy theorists believed the “real” Booth was not buried in his grave. Years later, his body was exhumed for verification.
— Some conspiracy theorists believed the “real” Oswald was not buried in his grave. Years later, his body was exhumed for verification.
13. Their Funerals
— After Lincoln’s state funeral at the U.S. Capitol, the funeral procession with Lincoln’s body left Washington, D.C.
— For Kennedy’s state funeral, Jackie Kennedy insisted her husband’s funeral mirror Lincoln’s funeral as closely as possible.
Interesting Note: Jackie Kennedy consulted a book on Lincoln’s funeral to make her husband’s funeral as close as possible to his.
Interesting Note: Some of Lincoln’s hair was kept when he died. Some of it will be DNA tested to check for diseases Lincoln suffered from. Most of his hair is in a museum, but some was sealed in a ring which President Theodore Roosevelt wore during his Inauguration.
— In 1856, the construction of the U.S. Capitol Dome began and was occurring when the Civil War began. Construction was briefly halted but the President ordered it to continue because he believed its continuance was a symbol of continuity for the “Citizens of the Union.” Construction of the Capitol Dome was completed on December 2, 1863.
— The celebrations over the completion of the U.S. Capitol Dome was occurring when Kennedy was assassinated. The U.S. Capitol Historical Society’s printing of a historical guidebook was briefly halted but the Society’s President ordered it to continue after adding a tribute to Kennedy’s funeral in the Capitol Rotunda. Kennedy lie in state there on November 24, 1963 – almost exactly 100 years after its completion (99 years, 11 months, and 22 days).
— Lincoln’s funeral services were held in the East Room of the White House where all of the windows, mirrors and chandeliers were draped in black silk.
— Kennedy’s funeral services were held in the East Room of the White House where all of the windows, mirrors and chandeliers were draped in black silk.
— Lincoln’s casket was carried on a catafalque and caisson.
— Kennedy’s casket was carried on the same catafalque and caisson as Lincoln.
— Lincoln was buried in a mahogany casket.
— Kennedy was buried in a mahogany casket.
— Shortly after the funeral, Lincoln’s surviving family moved to Georgetown at 3014 N Street (Google map).
— Shortly after the funeral, Kennedy’s surviving family moved to Georgetown at 3017 N Street (Google map).
— In ’62, Lincoln lost a son (Willie) whose casket was exhumed and re-buried next to Lincoln.
— In ’63, Kennedy lost a son (Patrick) whose casket was exhumed and re-buried next to Kennedy.
— The Lincoln family was eventually all buried together except for one son (Robert Lincoln). The remains of Tad, Edward and Mary Todd were moved to be placed with Willie and Abraham in the family tomb in Springfield, Illinois. Robert oversaw the security of this tomb, but was buried somewhere else himself (Arlington National Cemetery) next to his son Abraham Lincoln II.
— The Kennedy family was eventually all buried together except for one son (John Kennedy, Jr.). Jackie Kennedy had the remains of her two infants (Patrick and Arabella) moved to Arlington Cemetery and herself buried there next to the President. John Kennedy, Jr. was buried somewhere else (at sea) because of Caroline’s concerns about any gravesite of his being defaced.
— Lincoln’s Presidential Memorial is geographically aligned with the Presidential Memorial of John Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery across from Memorial Bridge.
— Kennedy’s Presidential Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery is geographically aligned with the Presidential Memorial of Abraham Lincoln across from Memorial Bridge.
Interesting Note: On November 11, 1963, exactly eleven days before his assassination, while touring Arlington National Cemetery, Kennedy prophetically remarked: “The view up here is so beautiful. I could stay here forever.”
14. Their Vice Presidents
— Andrew Johnson was the Vice President to President Lincoln. He was from the South in his mid-fifties who was older than the President.
— Lyndon Johnson was the Vice President to President Kennedy. He was from the South in his mid-fifties who was older than the President.
Interesting Note: Lyndon Johnson was the first Vice-President from the South since Andrew Johnson – 100 years later.
— Andrew Johnson was born in ’08 not far from Johnson City, Tennessee, into a poor family.
— Lyndon Johnson was born in ’08 not far from Johnson City, Texas, into a poor family.
— Andrew Johnson’s father worked as a janitor at the State Bank of North Carolina in Raleigh.
— Lyndon Johnson’s father worked as a janitor at Southwest Texas State Teachers College.
— Andrew Johnson’s education was an important influence in his early adult years as a professional tailor.
— Lyndon Johnson’s education was an important influence in his early adult years as a professional teacher.
— Andrew Johnson was a large man who had two daughters and had urethral stones – one of two presidents to ever have them.
— Lyndon Johnson was a large man who had two daughters and had urethral stones – one of two presidents to ever have them.
— Andrew Johnson was an officer (Brigadier General) in the Civil War and a Southern Democrat who served in the House of Representatives in ’47 and was a former U.S. Senator.
— Lyndon Johnson was an officer (Lieutenant Commander) in World War II and a Southern Democrat who served in the House of Representatives in ’47 and was a former U.S. Senator.
— Andrew Johnson opposed efforts to abolish slavery throughout the ’40s and ’50s.
— Lyndon Johnson opposed black civil rights legislation throughout the ’40s and ’50s.
— Andrew Johnson was initiated as an Entered Apprentice and Fellowcraft in Freemasonry. On May 5, 1851, Johnson was initiated at the Greeneville Masonic Lodge No. 119, in Greenville, Tennessee. After becoming president, Johnson became as Master Mason. In 1859, Johnson joined the Nashville York Rite Commandery of Knights Templar No. 1. In 1867, Johnson received the Scottish Rite degrees in a ceremony at the White House.
— Lyndon Johnson was initiated as an Entered Apprentice in Freemasonry. On October 30, 1937, Johnson was initiated at the Johnson City Masonic Lodge No. 561, in Johnson City, Texas. But a week after his initiation, he won an election as a Representative in Congress and his congressional duties took so much of his time he was unable to pursue advanced masonic degrees.
— During the election of ’60, in order to recapture Southern votes, Hershel V. Johnson (Governor of Georgia) was chosen as the Vice Presidential candidate with Stephen A. Douglas as the Presidential candidate.
— During the election of ’60, in order to recapture Southern votes, Lyndon B. Johnson (Senator from Texas) was chosen as the Vice Presidential candidate with John Kennedy as the Presidential candidate.
— Lincoln chose Johnson as a running mate with the goal of bringing more widespread appeal to his campaign – called ticket balance. Lincoln, a Northern abolitionist Republican, chose Johnson for his running mate mostly to appeal to Southern Democrats and Abolitionists.
— Kennedy chose Johnson as a running mate with the goal of bringing more widespread appeal to his campaign – called ticket balance. Kennedy, a Northern liberal Catholic Democrat, chose Johnson for his running mate to appeal to Southern Democrats and Protestants.
— Andrew Johnson became President, not by election, but because of the assassination of his predecessor. Johnson’s Presidency was overshadowed from the very beginning in comparison to one of the most impressive presidents in American history – Abraham Lincoln.
— Lyndon Johnson became President, not by election, but because of the assassination of his predecessor. Johnson’s Presidency was overshadowed from the very beginning in comparison to one of the most impressive presidents in American history – John F. Kennedy.
— President Andrew Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 during the time of Reconstruction but Republicans in Congress overrode the presidential veto.
— Senator Lyndon Johnson was responsible for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first civil rights legislation passed by the Senate since Reconstruction.
— Andrew Johnson was a heavy drinker and exhibited crude behavior on occasion.
— Lyndon Johnson was a heavy drinker and exhibited crude behavior on occasion.
Interesting Note: Johnson was the first and only Vice President to be drunk at his inauguration. His doctor had prescribed an alcoholic drink to relieve pain.
— Andrew Johnson was criticized for what many saw as his callous attitude towards President Lincoln immediately following the assassination.
— Lyndon Johnson was criticized for what many saw as his callous attitude towards President Kennedy immediately following the assassination.
— A conspiracy theory arose that Johnson was knowledgeable beforehand of the plot to assassinate the President. First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln was rumored to have accused Johnson of playing a role the assassination plot. When Johnson assumed the Presidency after Lincoln’s assassination, he was distrusted by members of the dead President’s Cabinet.
— A conspiracy theory arose that Johnson was knowledgeable beforehand of the plot to assassinate the President. First Lady Jackie Kennedy was rumored to have accused Johnson of playing a role of the assassination plot. When Johnson assumed the Presidency after Kennedy’s assassination, he was distrusted by members of the dead President’s Cabinet.
— Andrew Johnson appointed a commission of inquiry into the assassination but covered up or suppressed incriminating evidence concerning the assassination.
— Lyndon Johnson appointed a commission of inquiry into the assassination but covered up or suppressed incriminating evidence concerning the assassination.
— Andrew Johnson was faced with the major task of dealing with the problems of a nation (i.e., America) geographically divided after the American Civil War.
— Lyndon Johnson was faced with the major task of dealing with the problems of a nation (i.e., Vietnam) geographically divided during the Vietnamese Civil War.
— Andrew Johnson had a volatile presidency culminating with impeachment and chose not to run for re-election in ’68 leaving the presidency in disgrace. Yet historians regard him as among the “most colorful” of American Presidents.
— Lyndon Johnson had a volatile presidency culminating with the unpopularity of his Vietnam policies and chose not to run for re-election in ’68 leaving the presidency in disgrace. Yet historians regard him as among the “most colorful” of American Presidents.
— Andrew Johnson was opposed for re-election by a man whose last name started with “G” (Grant).
— Lyndon Johnson was opposed for re-election by a man whose last name started with “G” (Goldwater).
— Andrew Johnson died 10 years after the death of President Lincoln leaving no living former U.S. Presidents.
— Lyndon Johnson died 10 years after the death of President Kennedy leaving no living former U.S. Presidents
15. Their Vice Presidents’ Successor
— Ulysses S. Grant had a mother named Hannah and a father from Ohio who was a Methodist. Grant became a member of the Republican party and was elected President following an unpopular Democratic President whose last name was Johnson (Andrew).
— Richard M. Nixon had a mother named Hannah and a father from Ohio who was a Methodist. Nixon became a member of the Republican party and was elected President following an unpopular Democratic President whose last name was Johnson (Lyndon).
— During the American Civil War, General Grant conducted a costly war of attrition against the Confederacy.
— During the Vietnam Civil War, President Nixon conducted a costly war of attrition against the Communists.
Interesting Note: John Brown, the abolitionist whose actions ignited the Civil War, once lived briefly in Ohio with Ulysses S. Grant’s father.
— Grant was elevated to the rank of a 5-star General – the highest ranking General in the U.S. Military. Grant was also a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
— Nixon served directly under a 5-star General – the highest ranking General in the U.S. Military – Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower was also a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
— In his ’68 campaign for President, Grant ran against a Democrat by the name of Horatio Seymour.
— In his ’68 campaign for President, Nixon ran against a Democrat by the name of Hubert Horatio Humphrey.
— Grant was elected President in ’68. He was re-elected in ’72. He became involved in a scandal in ’72. His administration was racked with scandals, most notably, the Whiskey Ring scandal. Notice the name of this scandal, “Whiskey Ring“, refers to a drink involving water.
— Nixon was elected President in ’68. He was re-elected in ’72. He became involved in a scandal in ’72. His administration was racked with scandals, most notably, the Watergate scandal. Notice the name of this scandal, “Watergate“, refers to a drink involving water.
— In ’60, a sitting Vice President named John C. Breckinridge ran against Abraham Lincoln.
— In ’60, Nixon became the first sitting Vice-President to run for President since John C. Breckinridge ran against Abraham Lincoln exactly 100 years prior.
— During Grant’s Presidency, members of his administration took part in illegal activities including tax evasion. Because of this, the term “Grantism” became a common term for political corruption and greed.
— During Nixon’s Presidency, members of his administration took part in illegal activities including tax evasion. Because of this, the term “Watergate” became a common term for political corruption and greed. Many scandals since Watergate have been labeled with the suffix “-gate” (e.g. “Troopergate”).
— Grant’s Vice President had an unusual name: Schuyler Colfax (pronounced “sky- ler cole-fax”).
— Nixon’s Vice President had an unusual name: Spiro Agnew. His birth name is Spyros Anagnostopoulos; but his Americanized name is pronounced “spear-o ag-new”.
— In ’73, Vice President Schuyler Colfax left office because he was not re-nominated for Vice President under Grant because of criminal charges committed before becoming Vice President.
— In ’73, Vice President Spiro Agnew left office and resigned under Nixon because of criminal charges committed before becoming Vice President.
— In ’73, William Richardson (1821-1896) was a cabinet secretary (Treasury) under Grant. Richardson was born in Massachusetts in ’21. He was a Republican who graduated from Harvard University. In ’74, Richardson was a prominent figure in a major scandal (the Sanborn Incident) and resigned from his position.
— In ’73, Elliot Richardson (1920-1999) was a cabinet secretary (Health, Education and Welfare) under Nixon. Richardson was born in Massachusetts in ’20. He was a Republican who graduated from Harvard University. In ’74, Richardson was a prominent figure in a major scandal (Watergate) and resigned from his position.
— In ’73, Henry Wilson succeeded Schuyler Colfax as Vice President. Then about one year later, Wilson died.
— In ’73, Gerald Ford succeeded Spiro Agnew as Vice President. The following year Nixon resigned causing Ford to resign the Vice Presidency and assume the Office of President without having ever been elected to that Office.
— Allegations of antisemitism were brought into question against President Grant mainly because of an anti-Semitic order he issued stating, “The Jews, as a class, violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department, and also Department orders, are hereby expelled from the Department.” Later, Grant maintained he was unaware a staff officer issued it in his name.
— Allegations of antisemitism were brought into question against President Nixon mainly because the Watergate tapes revealed anti-Semitic statements Nixon made. Nixon would repeatedly demand to know who in various government organizations was Jewish and said Washington and the IRS were “full of Jews.” When speaking of Jewish people in general, Nixon once said, “Most Jews are disloyal” and “you can’t trust those bastards”. However, several Jewish people worked for Nixon including Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger, speechwriter Ben Stein, and economic adviser Herbert Stein.
— Grant wrote his autobiographical “Memoirs” which became an immediate bestseller and is considered among the greatest of military memoirs.
— Nixon wrote his autobiographical “Memoirs of Richard Nixon” which became a New York Times bestseller.
Interesting Note: Grant was defrauded of his estate which left him and his family completely destitute. His financial situation was so poor he had to resort to selling wartime souvenirs and swords to keep afloat. But with the help of his publisher, Mark Twain, Grant wrote his memoirs up to the very end of his life to leave some kind of financial legacy for his family. Grant died of throat cancer three days upon completion of his memoirs. When his memoir was published, it became a bestseller. Grant’s wife received a first royalty check of $200,000 and eventually received between $500,000 and $1,000,000. Grant remains the only U.S. President to die of cancer.
Interesting Note: President Richard Nixon was a tremendous admirer of President Woodrow Wilson. Nixon saw himself as the President who would establish Wilson’s vision of global stability and usher a new “Wilsonian” world order of security with the Russians and Chinese. So Nixon was very proud to use the historic “Wilson desk” for 13 years while Nixon served in the White House. But later research revealed the desk belonged to Henry Wilson, the Vice President of Ulysses Grant, and not Woodrow Wilson.
— Grant died in Wilton, New York.
— Nixon died in New York City, New York.
— President Grant was succeeded by RUTHERFORD Birchard Hayes.
— President Nixon was succeeded by Gerald RUDOLPH FORD.
16. Their Paranormal Experiences
— The famous astrologer, Dr. Luke Broughton, predicted the death of President Lincoln in a magazine article in 1864 using the infamous 20-year astrological cycle.
— The famous astrologer and psychic Jeane Dixon, predicted the death of the next U.S. President in Parade Magazine article in 1956. In a recurring vision, she would see a black cloud hovering over the White House and Kennedy, the ominous sign having first appeared to her clairvoyant sight 11 years before the fateful event. In another incident, during a meeting at the Ambassador Hotel, Jeane Dixon was asked if Robert Kennedy would ever become President. She responded, “No, he will never become President of the United States because of a tragedy right here in this hotel.” Twelve years later, Dixon’s prophecy was fulfilled in 1968 when Robert Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel.
Interesting Note: Weeks before Lincoln’s assassination, the psychic Charles J. Colchester warned Lincoln about a threat on his life. The medium became known to the Lincoln family after he was summoned by first lady Mary Todd Lincoln when she was looking to communicate with her dead 11-year-old son, Willie. But Colchester’s source for this information may not have been from psychic powers. Colchester happened to also be one of Booth’s drinking companions.
— Nostradamus scholars believe Nostradamus wrote numerous quatrains pertaining to the future of the U.S. although the U.S. had not yet to come into existence in his time. One quatain appears to be a prophecy about Lincoln, his accomplishments and his greatness. “The old office (slavery), shall be brought down (the Civil War), by the coming of the great Legislator (Lincoln), He shall be good to the humble (his humble origins) but will vex the rebellious ones (the Confederacy), None like him shall ever be born on this earth.”
— According to Nostradamus scholar, John Hogue, Nostradamus may have given a prophecy about the rise and assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, and the psychic Jeane Dixon who predicted them all: “The great man (President Kennedy) will be struck down in the day by a thunderbolt (a bullet from above), The evil deed predicted by the bearer (Jeane Dixon) of a petition (a warning). According to the prediction (by Dixon) another falls at night time (Robert Kennedy). Conflict in Reims (France), London, and pestilence in Tuscany.” According to Hogue, Nostradamus dates the time of the assassinations with conflict in France and London which refers to the student riots that occurred from 1968 to 1969. The “pestilence in Tuscany” refers to the 1966 Florence flood when authorities feared that pestilence in Tuscany would follow the disaster.
— Lincoln had numerous close brushes with death throughout his life. When he was 7 years old, he fell into a stream and almost drowned. Unable to swim, Lincoln was “almost dead” when his childhood friend pulled him out of the water with a stick. Then when Lincoln was 10 years old, he was kicked in the head by a horse and “apparently killed for a time” according to Lincoln. Then in July 1864, Confederate troops fired shots at him while he was visiting Fort Stevens. The man standing next to Lincoln was wounded. Then in August 1864, while riding a horse one evening alone, a “disloyal bushwhacker” fired a shot at Lincoln from around 50 yards away knocking his hat off. A bullet hole was later found in it. Then on March 17, 1865, John Wilkes Booth learned Lincoln would be attending a play near the Soldier’s Home. Booth assembled his team on a stretch of road near the Soldier’s Home in an attempt to kidnap him but Lincoln never showed up. The President had changed his plans at the last moment and attended a reception at the National Hotel in Washington where Booth was living at the time.
— Kennedy had a close brush with death in World War II when the PT-109 boat he commanded, along with a crew of 11 men, was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. The explosion killed 2 of his men and Kennedy was thrown into the cockpit on his bad back and almost drowned. Despite a severely injured back, Kennedy led the surviving men on a week-long survival struggle. Swimming over vast distances, they found very little food or water on the series of tiny deserted islands they swam to. Despite his injuries, Kennedy towed one of his men for 3 miles with the strap of the man’s life jacket in his teeth. After 15 hours of swimming, they eventually found an island with several natives. Kennedy carved an SOS message on a coconut and handed it to one of the natives to take to another island with a PT base. The next day, help arrived and they were finally rescued.
— Did a “Lincoln curse” exist? Author Michael Williams makes the case for it in his book called “Stranger Than Fiction: The Lincoln Curse.” It is about the true mystery of how four American presidents were assassinated and each time a member of the Lincoln family (Robert Lincoln) was present.
— Did a “Kennedy curse” exist? Author Edward Klein makes the case for it in his book called “The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America’s First Family for 150 Years.” It is about the true mystery of how the Kennedy family was subjected to such a mind-boggling chain of assassinations and public calamities.
— Lincoln was a victim of the so-called “20-year Presidential Death Cycle” – also known as the “Tecumseh Curse” – which is a astrological conjunction of the planets Saturn and Jupiter which occurs roughly every 20 years. In Lincoln’s case, his presidency began on March 4, 1861, during which the astrological conjunction occurred on October 25, 1861 which was 235 days into his presidency.
— Kennedy was a victim of the so-called “20-year Presidential Death Cycle” – also known as the “Tecumseh Curse” – which is a astrological conjunction of the planets Saturn and Jupiter which occurs roughly every 20 years. In Kennedy’s case, his presidency began on January 20, 1961, during which the astrological conjunction occurred on February 18, 1961 which was 29 days into his presidency.
— Lincoln was the first U.S. President to be assassinated under the infamous 20-Year Presidential Death Cycle which ran for 120 years, beginning in 1840 and ending in 1960.
— Kennedy was the last U.S. President to be assassinated under the infamous 20-Year Presidential Death Cycle which ran for 120 years, beginning in 1840 and ending in 1960. It involved every U.S. President elected or re-elected in 20-year intervals beginning in 1840 had died in office 1840: William Harrison (pneumonia); 1860: Abraham Lincoln (assassination); 1880: James Garfield (assassination); 1900: William McKinley (assassination); 1920: Warren Harding (heart attack); 1940: Franklin Roosevelt (brain hemorrhage); 1960: John Kennedy (assassination).
— Spiritualist psychic Nettie Colburn Maynard once warned Lincoln, “The shadows others have told of, still hang over you.” Lincoln replied he received letters from spiritualists all over the country warning him of impending doom.
— British astrologer John Pendragon, in October 1963, wrote an urgent letter to President Kennedy warning him of impending doom. The letter was also published in Fate Magazine and was on the news stands that fateful day in Dallas. The letter stated, “I would not rule out the possibility of an attempted assassination or worse if he is caught off his guard. Mr. President, I am deeply concerned for your personal safety and would respectfully urge you to strengthen your bodyguard, especially when you are in the streets and other public places.”
— When Lincoln was 22 years old, he sought the advice of a “Negro oracle” (a Voodoo woman) while in New Orleans with his cousin John Hanks. Lincoln asked about “his history, his end, and his fate.” Gazing into Lincoln’s eyes she made the prophetic statement, “You will be President, and all the negroes will be free.” (Source: “Sketch of the Life of Abraham Lincoln” by Isaac N. Arnold, 31)
— The 20-Year Presidential Death Cycle ultimately broke with Ronald Reagan who was elected in 1980 and survived being shot in a March 1981 assassination attempt. It was no secret how the Reagan presidency was literally controlled by astrology and the astrological forces of the cosmos. The Reagans relied heavily on astrology in the making of important decisions in the White House. Reagan’s entire schedule was coordinated by an astrologer named Joan Quigley who planned almost all presidential travel, press conferences, and even the president’s cancer surgery based on astrology. Many astrologers credit the Reagans’ adherence to astrology for “breaking” the 20-year cycle.
— In 1864, Lincoln consulted a black prophetess in Georgetown about his future. She retired to a dark room to raise up mystic spirits to speak with them. Afterward, she returned and told Lincoln, “General Grant will capture Richmond, you will be the next President – but beware of Chase.” (Source: Sandburg, Carl. “Abraham Lincoln“, 496) Obviously, this prophecy became true. Salmon P. Chase was Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury till 1864, the year before Lincoln was assassinated. Chase had an insatiable desire for high office. Throughout his term as Treasury Secretary, Chase exploited his position to build up political support for another run at the Presidency in 1864 against Lincoln. He also tried to pressure Lincoln by repeatedly threatening resignation, which he knew would cause Lincoln difficulties with the Radical Republicans. In June 1864, Lincoln surprised Chase by accepting his fourth offer of resignation; perhaps as a result of the black prophetess’ warning.
— On May 27, 1968, Robert Kennedy, President Kennedy’s brother, gave a speech to the Voice of America and made this prophetic statement, “Things are moving so fast in race relations a Negro could be President in 40 years.” On November 4, 2008, the first black man was elected President – Barack Obama – exactly 40 years, 5 months, 9 days after Robert Kennedy gave this prophecy.
— Months before his death, Lincoln stated, “If I am killed, I can die but once; but to live in constant dread of it, is to die over and over again.”
— Kennedy was once asked how, if given the choice, he would prefer to die. He replied, “You never know what’s hit you. A gunshot is the perfect way.”
— Days before his assassination, Lincoln had a premonition of his death in a dream in which he saw himself dead in a coffin in the White House.
— Days before his assassination, Kennedy was given a premonition of his death from his secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, who said his trip to Dallas could have tragic consequences and urged him not to go.
— Lincoln made a prophetic statement when he wrote to his wife to be watchful with their son Tad because Lincoln had experienced an “unpleasant” dream. On the day of his assassination, April 14, 1865, he was so troubled by a dream he actually discussed it at a Cabinet meeting. He told his colleagues he had seen himself sailing “in an indescribable vessel and moving rapidly toward an indistinct shore.”
— Kennedy made a prophetic statement on the day of his assassination. Kennedy said to Jackie and his personal advisor Ken O’Donnell, “You know, last night would have been a hell of a night to assassinate a President.”
Interesting Note: According to Jackie Kennedy, the President joked darkly about being assassinated after discussing Abraham Lincoln’s legacy with Princeton historian David Donald.
— Lincoln made a prophetic statement just hours before his death. He said to his bodyguard William H. Crook, “Crook, do you know I believe there are men who want to take my life? And I have no doubt they will do it … I know no one could do it and escape alive. But if it is to be done, it is impossible to prevent it.”
— Kennedy made a prophetic statement just hours before his death. He said to his wife Jackie, “If somebody wants to shoot me from a window with a rifle, nobody can stop it, so why worry about it?”
Interesting Note: William Crook then advised Lincoln not to go that night to Ford’s Theatre, but Lincoln said he had promised his wife they would go. As Lincoln left for the theater, he turned to Crook and said, “Goodbye, Crook.” According to Crook, this was the first time he said that. Before, Lincoln had always said, “Good night, Crook.” Crook later recalled: “It was the first time that he neglected to say ‘Good Night’ to me and it was the only time that he ever said ‘Good-bye’. I thought of it at that moment and, a few hours later, when the news flashed over Washington that he had been shot, his last words were so burned into my being that they can never be forgotten.”
— Lincoln was haunted by a ghostly vision of himself which appeared to him on the evening of his Presidential election. While lying on a sofa, he glanced into a large opposing mirror across the room and saw a “ghostly double” image of himself. The ghostly face was paler than his actual image and the image disappeared when he stood up. The vision greatly disturbed him; but with all the election excitement, he dismissed it and laid back down on the sofa. But when glanced at the mirror again, the ghostly double image appeared again with the one face paler than the other. Startled, he stood up and the vision disappeared again. But when it returned once more, he became greatly distressed. A few days later he tried it again and the ghostly double image appeared again – for the last time. Lincoln told his wife about the haunting experience and she believed the vision was a sign he would be elected to a second term but would not survive it.
— In another prophetic statement just hours before his death, Kennedy saw a startling picture of himself in a full page ad in the Dallas newspaper published by Ted Dealey (as in Dealey Plaza). Kennedy’s picture was ominously bordered in black like an announcement of mourning. It was paid for by a major hate-Kennedy organization based in Dallas. It included a “Wanted for Treason” page complete with a “criminal profile” of Kennedy. Upon seeing the ad, Kennedy’s face turned grim and he turned to his wife and said they were “heading into nut country today.” Later, still fuming from what he saw, Kennedy said to one of his aides, “You know who’s responsible for that ad? Dealey.” Then he said something derogatory about Dealey. Hours later, he was assassinated in Dealey Plaza.
— When the President’s wife (Mary Todd Lincoln) was a young girl, she predicted she would grow up to be the wife of a U.S. President. It happened just as she predicted it would.
— When the President’s Vice President (Lyndon Johnson) was a young boy, his grandfather predicted Lyndon would grow up to be a U.S. Senator. It happened just as he predicted it would.
— The mother of President Lincoln’s assassin described having a nightmare while dozing beside the cradle of her infant son, John Wilkes Booth. She watched the infant’s hand as it suddenly grew to gigantic size and became the grotesque paw of a monster. Later in life, when John Wilkes was a student at a Quaker School in Cockeysville, Maryland, John Wilkes and some of his friends paid a visit to an old gypsy palm reader who told him, “Oh, you have a bad hand. It is full of trouble and sorrow. You’ll die young and you’ll make a bad end. Young sir, I have never seen a worse hand. You’d best try to escape by turning missionary or priest.” Asia Booth, John Wilkes’ sister, recorded both of these prophecies.
— The wife of President Kennedy, Jacqueline had a recurring nightmare of her son, John Jr., dying in a plane crash. On July 16, 1999, her nightmare came true when John Jr. was killed in a plane crash at sea.
— There have been several reports from credible people who have seen the ghosts of former Presidents haunting the White House. The most popular and most observed ghost is of President Lincoln. Lincoln’s ghost, also known as “The White House Ghost,” is said to have haunted the White House since his assassination.
— President Kennedy was an avid “history buff” and read books on history including ones about President Lincoln. Kennedy frequently said he believed in life after death and claimed to have regularly sought Lincoln’s advice on matters of utmost importance.
17. Their Highly Unusual Experiences
(1) John Wilkes Booth’s brother saved the life of Abraham Lincoln’s son.
Shortly before Lincoln’s assassination, the brother of John Wilkes Booth (Edwin Booth) saved the life of Robert Lincoln (the son of President Lincoln) on a train platform in Jersey. Upon turning to thank his rescuer he saw it was the famous actor Edwin Booth whose face was well known to him. Robert expressed his gratitude to him and called him by name. Because of his heroic action, Edwin Booth was invited to give a command performance in the White House and was forever after a Lincoln sympathizer although he was raised in the South. At the time, Booth was unaware the man whose life he had saved on the train platform had been the President’s son. After Lincoln’s assassination, the incident was said to have been of some comfort to Edwin Booth following his brother’s assassination of the President.
(2) Ford’s Theater collapsed on the day of John Wilkes Booth’s brother’s funeral killing 22 people.
There is another unusual connection involving Edwin Booth occurred around the time of his death on June 7, 1893. Two days later, at the very moment Edwin’s casket was being carried from the Little Church Around the Corner in New York City, all three floors of Ford’s Theater collapsed killing 22 people and injuring 68 others.
(3) Robert Lincoln, the son of Abraham Lincoln, was associated with the assassinations of four U.S. Presidents and 1 New York City Mayor.
President #1: Abraham Lincoln
Robert Lincoln was invited to accompany his parents, President Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, to the Ford’s Theater on the night his father was shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865. Citing fatigue from riding in a covered wagon for an extended period of time, Robert declined and remained behind at the White House where he immediately went to bed. He was informed of the President’s assassination just before midnight.
President #2: James Garfield
At President Garfield‘s invitation, Robert Lincoln was at the Sixth Street Train Station in Washington, D.C. where President Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau on July 2, 1881. Robert Lincoln was an eyewitness to the event and was serving as Garfield’s Secretary of War at the time.
President #3: William McKinley
At President McKinley‘s invitation, Robert Lincoln was at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, where McKinley was shot by Leon F. Czolgosz on September 6, 1901 although he was not an eyewitness to the event. After McKinley’s death, Lincoln let it be known he wanted no further invitations from any U.S. President. Interestingly enough, Robert Lincoln would not have been able to attend these events had not John Wilkes Booth’s brother, Edwin Booth, saved his life years earlier.
Mayor #1: William Jay Gaynor
Robert Lincoln witnessed the assassination attempt on New York Mayor William Jay Gaynor on August 9, 1910. After Gaynor was shot, Robert Lincoln rushed to his aide.
President #4: John F. Kennedy
Robert Lincoln chose as his grave site a nice quiet spot in Arlington Cemetery. In 1926, Robert Lincoln died and was buried in that spot. Then, in November 1963, a military honor guard carried yet another assassinated President, John F. Kennedy, and laid him to rest just yards away from Lincoln.
(4) A 1864 New York City terrorist attack involved John and Robert Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, the Booth Brothers, and the Warren Commission.
Confederate agents planned a desperate act of terrorism in New York City for Election Day, 1864 to disrupt elections by firebombing a large number of the city’s hotels. The Lincoln administration knew about the plot through a Union double agent. The New York City Superintendent of Police, John A. Kennedy, believed the plot to be a hoax; but on November 25, 1864, the firebombing began. At the exact same time, three famous acting brothers, Edwin Booth, Junius Booth, and John Wilkes Booth were performing together for one day only in New York City at the Winter Garden Theatre in a Shakespeare’s play about the assassination of Julius Caesar. The terrorist act failed and only one of the Confederate agents was apprehended, namely Robert C. Kennedy, who had escaped six weeks earlier from Johnson’s Island Prison. Robert C. Kennedy’s trial was presided over by the Warren Commission of General Fitz-Henry Warren which lasted 23 days. Robert C. Kennedy was hanged on March 25, 1865 and was the last Confederate soldier executed by the Union.
(5) John Kennedy thwarted an assassination plot against Abraham Lincoln.
New York Police Superintendent John A. Kennedy played a role in President Abraham Lincoln’s protection during his 1861 inaugural train trip and in the investigation immediately following Lincoln’s assassination. Kennedy was so influential in his role in protecting the President that Edwin Stanton, Lincoln’s Secretary of State, telegraphed Kennedy roughly three hours after Lincoln was assassinated. In 1951, John A. Kennedy was the subject of a movie called “The Tall Target” based on his role in protecting President Lincoln. Actor Dick Powell starred in the role of Kennedy who foils an assassination plot against Lincoln.
18. Links To More Resources
Abraham Lincoln Links:
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum – (alplm.org)
Abraham Lincoln Research site – (rogerjnorton.com)
Abraham Lincoln Assassination site – (rogerjnorton.com)
Abraham Lincoln Mega-links page – (rogerjnorton.com)
Mary Todd Lincoln Research site – (rogerjnorton.com)
The Lincoln Institute – (abrahamlincoln.org)
Abraham Lincoln Association – (abrahamlincolnassociation.org)
Abraham Lincoln Institute – (lincoln-institute.org)
Lincoln / NET – (lincoln.lib.niu.edu)
The Lincoln Log – (thelincolnlog.org)
Lincoln Archives – (lincolnarchives.us)
Lincolniana Blog – (lincolniana.blogspot.com)
Lincoln Images – (lincolnimages.com)
Wikipedia: Abraham Lincoln – (wikipedia.org)
Lincoln Timeline – (historyplace.com)
YouTube Videos about Abraham Lincoln – (youtube.com)
History Channel: Abraham Lincoln – (history.com)
Library of Congress: Abraham Lincoln – (loc.gov)
Abraham Lincoln Online – (abrahamlincolnonline.org)
John F. Kennedy Links
JFK Presidential Library and Museum – (jfklibrary.org)
National Archives: JFK Assassination – (archives.gov)
Wikipedia: John F. Kennedy – (wikipedia.org)
List of the Best JFK Assassination sites – (mcadams.posc.mu.edu)
History Channel: John F. Kennedy – (history.com)
YouTube Videos about JFK – (youtube.com)
The Sixth Floor Museum – (jfk.org)
Mary Ferrell Foundation on JFK – (maryferrell.org)
Synchronicity and Coincidence Links
Wikipedia article on Synchronicity – (wikipedia.org)
Wikipedia Category on Synchronicity – (wikipedia.org)
Carl Jung on Synchronicity – (carl-jung.net)
Synchronicity Times Online Magazine – (synchronicitytimes.com)
Jung on Synchronicity and the Paranormal – (bibliotecapleyades.net)
C.G. Jung’s Synchronicity and Quantum Entanglement – (academia.edu)
20 Most Amazing Coincidences – (oddee.com)
29 Coincidences You Won’t Believe Happened – (cracked.com)
6 Insane Coincidences You Won’t Believe – (cracked.com)
6 Random Coincidences That Created The Modern World – (cracked.com)
The 5 Most Mind-Blowing Coincidences of All Time – (cracked.com)
19. Conclusion
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” – William Shakespeare
A good analogy of the way reincarnation works can be found in the movie “Groundhog Day” starring funny man Bill Murray. In the movie, Bill Murray played a man who suddenly discovered that he’s continuously reliving the same day over and over again. Every day was identical to the one before it with the same events happening and the same people saying the same things. The only difference was the man played by Bill Murray who remembered all the previous days and therefore learned to adapt to his strange situation. The allegory to reincarnation is how, with each succeeding lifetimes, we must face the same situations and problems that we did in previous lives until we learn from them and overcome them by finally “getting it right.” Where reincarnation differs from the movie analogy is that, unlike Bill Murray’s character, we do not retain our memories of previous lifetimes at the conscious level. We enter each lifetime with a “clean slate” at the conscious level. But at the subconscious and “superconscious” level our past life memories are retained. NDEs reveal that Earth is a “World-School” – a “School of Hard Knocks” – of which we come to learn important lessons. The reason we don’t retain our past life memories at the conscious level is the same reason that students in school are not given the answers to an examination before they take it. It appears that this is the ideal way of learning in the physical realm.
So this is why it is said that history tends to repeat itself. And those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Concerning divine justice, Jesus said that those who “live by the sword will die by the sword.” This is an excellent definition of “karma” and it means that those who do not overcome their problems in one lifetime will have to face these same problems in a future lifetime.
The best example that I am aware of which shows how history repeats itself can be found in the lives of President Abraham Lincoln and President John F. Kennedy. Their lives had so many similarities that, in my opinion, they provide strong circumstantial evidence supporting the reality of reincarnation. According to the laws of probabilities, it is difficult to dismiss these similarities as pure coincidence. These similarities strongly suggests to me that President Kennedy was in fact the reincarnation of President Lincoln. Read the evidence in this article and decide for yourself.
The plethora of highly unusual connections between Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy cannot be skeptically dismissed as mere coincidence. The evidence presented in this article points to a very special type of transpersonal phenomenon. In analytical and transpersonal psychological terms, events occurring simultaneously which have no causal relationship yet have a very strong relationship in terms of meaning which reveals the existence of some hidden “acausal” connection is referred to as “synchronicity” – a word coined by the pioneering psychologist and near-death experiencer Carl Jung. The inspiration for Jung’s research into synchronicity was an actual event that happened to Jung while one of his patients was telling him of an impressive dream she had the night before. As she was telling Jung about how someone in her dream had given her a costly piece of jewelery in the form of a golden scarab (a beetle), Jung heard something behind him out of her view which was gently tapping on the window. Jung turned around and opened the window and immediately caught the large insect that flew in. It was a scarabaeid beetle, or common rose-chafer (Cetonia aurata), whose gold-green color most nearly resembles that of a golden scarab. Jung handed the beetle to his patient with the words, “Here is your scarab.”
By studying synchronistic patterns between the lives of two people, researchers have found underlying evidence suggestive of reincarnation. Dr. Ian Stevenson, for example, studied children with past life memories who had synchronistic evidence to support it – such as an unusual birthmark correlating with the child’s past life memory. Cases of synchronicity have been well documented throughout history; but in my opinion, there is no greater historical example of synchronicity and reincarnation than the lives of Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy. To examine Stevenson’s scientific evidence suggestive of reincarnation, visit the main reincarnation section of this website. The near-death experience itself offers many insights into the mechanics of reincarnation.
According to ancient religious traditions, this underlying, hidden law of “cause and effect” is known as “karma” and it expresses itself through reincarnation. It is the law of “divine justice” found in many religions and is described as “an eye for eye, a tooth for tooth,” or “all who draw the sword, will die by the sword,” or “a man reaps what he sows.” But common sense tells us many people have “drawn the sword” and have gotten away with it scot-free. The logical conclusion is such people must “die by the sword” in some future lifetime. Divine justice demands when we do unto others, the same will eventually be done to us – for the purpose of spiritual instruction. Karma is also popularly known as the principle of “what goes around, comes around” or when something “comes full circle” or “violence begets violence.” In everyday terms, karma is like the impersonal law of gravity: what goes up must come down. Apparently, this law of cause and effect exists more for educational purposes rather than a form of punishment as many near-death experiencers have learned.
Modern physics is also getting in on the act. Following discussions with both Albert Einstein and Wolfgang Pauli, two founding fathers of quantum theory, Carl Jung believed there were parallels between synchronicity and the relativity of time and its connection to consciousness. Some physicists also see a theoretical grounding for synchronicity in quantum physics, fractal geometry, chaos theory and consciousness. Scientists are discovering how objective reality is more of an illusion than subjective reality. At deeper levels, everything – atoms, cells, molecules, plants, animals, and people – participate in a connected flowing web of information. At the quantum level, the observer becomes a part of the reality he or she observes and the distinction between observer and object disappears. Space and time are concepts we bring with us to the quantum level but they do not seem to objectively exist there. If they do, they are created only by means of our observation and our measurements which has subjective meaning only to us but not at the quantum level. Time flows both forward and backward symmetrically according to relativity which is suggestive of the reality of time travel. And because all matter is mostly composed of empty space (including our brains and bodies), due to the structure of atoms held together by atomic energy, a metaphysical case can be made about how we are mostly composed of “spirit” — an energy which can neither be created or destroyed only transformed. At the quantum level, location becomes nonlocal where everything can be thought of as being in no particular place at no particular time. What we see “out there” has more to do with our own consciousness and subjective experience than anything which might be out there. In light of these findings, we must conclude the notion of objective reality is in error. The study of physics has extended into the study of our own minds.
There is also the quantum theory of superposition which is a condition where matter can exist in more than one dimension at the same time, such as in parallel universes. Both of these concepts in physics can be used to develop a theory of reincarnation. Physicists have demonstrated how two particles can be separated from each other — even billions of light-years away — a change in one particle instantly creates a simultaneous change in the other particle as if they were connected somehow. This phenomenon called “quantum entanglement” which Einstein called “spooky actions from a distance” and is suggestive of an underlying reality which physicists have not yet been able to explain although there are many theories. One of the most compelling theories is called the holographic principle which defines the universe as a single, gigantic hologram where everything is connected to everything else including our minds. Metaphysically speaking, our brains generate mental pictures in the form of holograms commonly known as our “mind’s eye.” The holonomic brain theory originated from one of the most significant theoretical physicists of the 20th century, David Bohm, and neurophysiologist Karl Pribram who independently (i.e., synchronistically) arrived at holographic models of the universe and mind at the same time. This holographic model may be the basis for all mystical experiences. The holographic model is part of a new emerging paradigm called “holism” (the opposite of reductionism) and is the idea that natural systems (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, etc.) and their properties, should be viewed as wholes, not the sum of its parts. A corresponding theory of consciousness (known as “Orch-OR“) was developed by the joint work of theoretical physicist, Sir Roger Penrose, and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff. Like David Bohm and Karl Pribram before them, Penrose and Hameroff developed their theories quite separately from one another (i.e., synchronistically). Penrose approached the problem of consciousness from the view point of mathematics, while Hameroff approached it from his career in anesthesia which gave him an interest in brain structures. These scientific theories can be used to develop a quantum theory of reincarnation.
Jung theorized how synchronicity serves a role similar to dreams, with the purpose of shifting a person’s egocentric conscious thinking to greater wholeness. Jung was transfixed by the idea of life not being a series of random events but rather an expression of a deeper order, which he and Wolfgang Pauli referred to as “one world” — a term referring to the concept of an underlying unified reality of the universe from which everything emerges and returns to. Jung believed this principle of an underlying “world” can express itself through synchronicity and reincarnation and is the basis for quantum mysticism, quantum mind and quantum cognition. Quantum consciousness is the theory of the existence of an underlying consciousness or intelligence connecting everyone, based on the fact quantum fields can be interpreted as extending infinitely in space. Jung referred to this connection between all lives as the “collective unconscious.” These theories also support the ideas of a many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and its corresponding many-minds theory – both of which means everything could well be anywhere at the same time. Quantum immortality is theoretically possible which also means reincarnation is theoretically possible.
In conclusion, quantum mechanics may offer a mechanism for the survival of personality by which memories and emotions could carry over from one life to another. Because the act of observation causes waves of light to become particles, consciousness may not be merely a by-product of the physical brain but rather a nonlocal entity in the universe which influences the physical. If we view consciousness as a fundamental, non-physical, and part of the universe, it becomes possible to conceive of consciousness continuing to exist after the death of the physical brain. A good analogy of this is the relationship between a television set and the television transmission; the television is required to decode the signal, but it does not create the signal. In a similar way the brain may be required for consciousness to express itself, but may not be the source of consciousness. And because there are so many theories in physics supporting possible theories of reincarnation — not to mention the other fields of research — it is safe to assume reincarnation is certainly within the realm of possibilities.
