Assassination of Abraham Lincoln jury could not reach a verdict and John Surratt was released. 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 America Play the Gettysburg Address and references to the hole in Lincoln’s head from the shooting also dominate the historical allusions made. Supposed quotations from the assassination that are quoted and repeated in the play include: "The America Play" tells the story of an Abraham Lincoln impersonator, known as the Founding Father, reenacting the night Lincoln was assassinated. Customers come and pay as little as they want to act like John Wilkes Booth or anybody else the customer chooses to portray, and pretend to assassinate the Lincoln impersonator. The Founding Father was fascinated by Abraham Lincoln, saying Lincoln was his "favorite", even