Edward Askew Sothern the play that Abraham Lincoln was watching when he was assassinated. Sothern's role was Lord Dundreary, a caricature of a brainless English nobleman. At first, he was reluctant to accept the role; it was so small and unimportant that he felt it beneath him and feared it might damage his reputation. He mentioned his qualms to his friend, Joseph Jefferson, who had been cast in the leading role of Asa Trenchard in the play. Jefferson supposedly responded with the famous line: "There are no small parts, only small actors." On 15 October 1858, "Our American Cousin" premiered in New York.
Abraham Lincoln Association Abraham Lincoln Association The Abraham Lincoln Association is an American association that observes each anniversary of the birth of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, preserves and makes more accessible landmarks associated with his life, and encourages, promotes, and aids the collection and dissemination of authentic information regarding all phases of his life and career. The Abraham Lincoln Association was organized in 1908 as the Lincoln Centennial Association. Among the founders of the Association were United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Melville Weston Fuller, and financier John Whitfield Bunn. It led the national celebration of Lincoln's one-hundredth birthday. In 1925, under the