John Wilkes Booth

On May 10, 1838, John Wilkes Booth was born in Maryland. John and his brothers and sisters were raised on a farm, which was worked by the family's slaves.

From a very young age, he was described as disarmingly handsome so it seemed natural that he would become an actor just like his father. In 1862, Booth made his New York debut, this time as the lead in Richard III. A respiratory illness in 1863 made him leave the stage temporarily.

He was in favour of slavery and during the Civil War, Booth served as a secret agent for the Confederacy. Booth was involved in a conspiracy to kidnap President Lincoln. The plan failed because the president didn’t go to the place where they were going to kidnap him. Booth felt frustrated when his plan failed and he decided to kill the president. On April 14, 1865, just after 10 p.m., Booth shot and killed Lincoln while he was watching a performance of the play “Our American Cousin” .

On April 26, 1865 he was found in a barn. Booth refused to surrender and he was shot by a Union Army soldier.