Lincoln assassinated

On 14 April 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer and stage actor John Wilkes Booth. Booth and his co-conspirators had hoped to revive the Confederacy by assassinating the most important officials of the US government, but elaborate plans had not come to fruition. Then on 11th April, Booth had heard Lincoln deliver a speech outside the White House, and had commented his companion “That means nigger citizenship. Now, by God, I will put him through. That will be the last speech he will ever make.”

After the assassination, Booth evaded capture for 12 days, but was eventually shot after being tracked to a farm in northern Virginia. Eight other conspirators were tried and convicted.