Assassination of Abraham Lincoln Assassination of Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, while attending the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the head as he watched the play, Lincoln died the following day at 7:22 a.m., in the Petersen House opposite the theater. He was the first American president to be assassinated, and Lincoln's funeral and burial marked an extended period of national mourning. Occurring near the end of the American Civil War, the assassination was part of a larger
Abraham Lincoln (play) of which John Drinkwater was the artistic director. Arnold Bennett and Nigel Playfair acquired the play and its company for the suburban Hammersmith Playhouse, where "Abraham Lincoln" became a sensational success with London audiences. Irish actor William J. Rea starred. Produced by William Harris Jr., the Broadway production of "Abraham Lincoln" opened December 15, 1919, at the Cort Theatre, and ran for 193 performances. Lester Lonergan directed a cast including the following: In 1924, a two-reel sound film version of the play was filmed by Lee De Forest in his Phonofilm sound-on-film process. Frank McGlynn reprised his Broadway role. In