The Lincoln – Kennedy Assassination Connection

Little did the nation suspect that as these two great men took their Oaths of office for the Presidency of the United States that their clock was rnning out. These coincidences have been around for a while, but now seems as good a time as any to trot them out again. Eerie similarities between the lives and deaths of John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln.

Family

• Both were the second born child in their families.
• Both lost children while living in the White House
• British ambassador
• Lincoln's son Robert was U. S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1889 to 1893.
• Kennedy's father Joseph was U. S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1940.
• Both had at least four children.
• Lincoln: Robert, Edward, William "Willie", and Thomas "Tad"
• Kennedy: Arabella, Caroline, John Jr., Patrick

Marriage

• Both Lincoln and Kennedy did not marry until they were well over thirty years old. They each married a woman about 24 years old from a wealthy family who spoke French.
• At age 33 Lincoln married Mary Todd in 1842. She was actually 23 years 326 days old.
• At age 36 Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953. She was actually 24 years 46 days old.

Family Tragedy

• Both had a sister to whom they were very close and who died young.
• Lincoln's sister, Sarah, died while giving birth in 1828 (age 20).
• Kennedy's sister, Kathleen, died in a plane crash in 1948 (age 28).
• Both Lincoln and Kennedy lost a child when they were President.
• Lincoln's 12 year old son Willie died in 1862.
• Kennedy's son Patrick died 2 days after his birth in 1963.
• Of their children, only one survived past age 40.
• Robert Todd Lincoln
• Caroline Bouvier Kennedy

Care

er

• Both studied law
• Both served their country as war veterans.
• Lincoln in The Black Hawk War
• Kennedy in World War II on the PT-109
• Elected to Congress a century apart
• Lincoln in 1846
• Kennedy in 1946
• Elected President a century apart
• Lincoln in 1860
• Kennedy in 1960
• Before becoming President, both Kennedy and Lincoln gained fame in a series of debates with better-known opponents.
• Lincoln debated Stephen Douglas
• Kennedy debated Richard Nixon
• Each President also had a monumental event in civil rights that took place a century apart.
• In 1863, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
• In 1963 there was the great march on Washington during President Kennedy's term.
• Both presidents were succeeded by men surnamed Johnson and born a century apart.
• Andrew Johnson, 1808
• Lyndon Johnson, 1908
• Both wanted to switch running mates in their '64 re-election. Lincoln replaced Hannibal Hamlin with Andrew Johnson on the 1864 presidential ticket. Kennedy was rumored to have wanted to replace Lyndon Johnson with another running mate in the 1964 election.
• Both Johnsons either signed or vetoed a civil rights bill.
• Lincoln had a secretary called David Kennedy who warned the President not to go to the theater -- Kennedy had a secretary by the name of Evelyn Lincoln who warned the President not to go to Dallas.
• Both were Northern politicians who were assassinated by Southern sympathizers and succeeded by Southerner politicians.

Assassination

• Both were assassinated with a gunshot to the head.
• Both were sitting next to their wives when they were shot.
• In each assassination, they were with another couple and the man of that couple was also wounded.
• Major Henry Rathbone, who was in the box with Lincoln, was slashed by Booth's knife.
• Governor John Connally was also shot.
• Booth shot Lincoln in a theatre, was himself shot and captured in a tobacco warehouse, and died later before being brought to trial-- Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and was captured in a Theater, and was himself shot later before being brought to trial.
• Kennedy was travelling in a Ford’s Lincoln -- Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theatre.
• Both presidents died on a Friday preceding a holiday.
• Lincoln was shot on Good Friday, two days before Easter.
• Kennedy was shot on the Friday before Thanksgiving.
• Both men made prophetic statements on the days of their assassinations which were both 16 words long:
• Lincoln said: "If somebody wants to take my life, there is nothing I can do to prevent it."
• Kennedy said: "If somebody wants to shoot me from a window with a rifle, nobody can stop it."

Assassins

• Each assassin came from a troubled family that lacked a father figure.
• Each assassin had an older brother whom they tried to emulate.
• Booth had a brother named Edwin who was a much more acclaimed actor.
• Oswald had a brother named Robert whom he envied.
• The assassins were both shot before they could stand trial.
• Booth's earlier attempt at kidnapping President Lincoln failed - Oswald's earlier assassination attempt of General Edwin Walker failed.

Names & Numbers

• Both Vice Presidents have 6 letters in their first names and 7 in their last.
• Andrew Johnson
• Lyndon Johnson
• Both assassins, known by three names, have 15 letters in their names.
• John Wilkes Booth
• Lee Harvey Oswald

Lincoln's successor was Andrew Johnson, born in 1808 and Kennedy's successor was Lyndon Johnson, born in 1908. One Hundred years apart.

OK, I grant you that some of this is probably mere coincidence but hey, who knows! It is certainly weird! If you think this has been weird though just wait until our next installment when we look at the eerie similarities and coincidences in the 2 men who followed the slain presidents into office! See you then.

I’m Average Joe