April 14, 1865Reputable sourceWell documented
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
On the timeline · around April 14, 1865 ·
What happened
Just five days after Appomattox, actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln during a performance of 'Our American Cousin' at Ford's Theatre in Washington. Lincoln died the next morning, April 15, 1865.
Why it matters
Lincoln's assassination robbed the nation of its wartime leader at the dawn of Reconstruction, with lasting consequences for the peace.