Today in History, April 14th
On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre. Plus the Black Sunday dust storm and the Human Genome Project.
Published · Last updated
April 14 is best known for 1865, when John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The date also saw the “Black Sunday” dust storm roll across the Dust Bowl in 1935 and researchers announce the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003.
The big story: Lincoln is shot at Ford’s Theatre (1865)
Five days after Robert E. Lee’s surrender, Abraham Lincoln took a night off. He and his wife went to Ford’s Theatre in Washington to see Laura Keene in the comedy Our American Cousin. Just after 10 p.m. on April 14, 1865, the actor John Wilkes Booth slipped into the president’s private box and fired a single shot into the back of Lincoln’s head. Booth jumped to the stage, breaking his left leg, then limped out to his horse and fled toward Maryland. The same night, a fellow plotter, Lewis Powell, forced his way into Secretary of State William Seward’s home and stabbed him several times. Another conspirator, assigned to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson, lost his nerve. Lincoln was carried to a lodging house across the street and died there at about 7:22 the next morning, the first U.S. president to be assassinated. Soldiers cornered Booth in a burning barn on April 26, and he was shot.
More events on April 14
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1471 | Edward IV defeated the forces of Henry VI at the Battle of Barnet, regaining the English throne. |
| 1775 | The first American abolition society was founded in Philadelphia. |
| 1828 | Noah Webster published An American Dictionary of the English Language, packed with distinctly American words. |
| 1918 | American pilots Douglas Campbell and Alan Winslow fought the first U.S. aerial dogfight over the Western Front, near Toul, France. |
| 1935 | The “Black Sunday” dust storm swept across the Dust Bowl region. |
| 1939 | John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath was published. |
| 1986 | U.S. warplanes launched a raid on targets in Libya in retaliation for its sponsorship of terrorism. The strikes began shortly before 7 p.m. Eastern time, already early April 15 in Libya. |
| 1988 | The Soviet Union, Afghanistan, the U.S. and Pakistan signed an agreement calling for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. |
| 2003 | Researchers announced the completion of the Human Genome Project. |
| 2010 | Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano began sending huge plumes of ash into the sky, disrupting air travel across northern Europe for days. |
| 2014 | The militant group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 275 girls from a boarding school in Chibok, Nigeria. |
Born on April 14
- 1866: Anne Sullivan, teacher best known for educating Helen Keller, born in Feeding Hills, near Springfield, Massachusetts.
- 1904: John Gielgud, English actor celebrated for his Shakespearean roles, born in London.
- 1932: Loretta Lynn, country singer known as the “Queen of Country,” born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky.
Keep reading
Sources
- John Wilkes Booth shoots Abraham Lincoln, History.com
- This Day in History: April 14, History.com
- What happened on April 14, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Anne Sullivan, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- John Gielgud, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Loretta Lynn, Encyclopaedia Britannica
How about John Wilkes Booth shoots Lincoln? Really, it was a pretty big deal.
To be honest, it was originally on my list. However, I figured since Lincoln died the following morning (the 15th), I’d just mention it as part of Lincoln dying.
So make sure and come back tomorrow… 🙂