John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865) it was son of a famous actor, Junius Booth. The family lived on a farm served by slaves in the state of Maryland. John excelled in sports and was uninterested in academic life, dropping out of school at the age of 14, shortly after his father’s death.
Around 1850, he became active in politics. His core ideology involved reducing the flow of immigrants to the US and support for slavery. During the US Civil War (1861-1865), he worked as a spy for the Confederates (southern states that lost the war).
The Confederates planned to kidnap then-President Abraham Lincoln, who was fighting to free the slaves. The intention was to exchange him for prisoners of war. The plan involved intercepting the presidential carriage on the way to a play. But it failed when the president changed his schedule and went to visit military troops elsewhere.
Motivated by the Confederate defeats in the war and by Lincoln being against slavery, John decided to assassinate the president. He even sounded out advisors and government officials (known for not fully supporting Lincoln’s ideas), but no one agreed to help him with his plans.
Taking advantage of the family background (which gave him access to all areas of the Ford Theater in Washington DC), John broke into Lincoln’s box and the first lady and shot the president in the head. A major in the Union forces (opposed to the Confederates) was stabbed while trying to hold John.
John fled through the audience. Along with his partner, David Herold, he galloped south towards the state of Virginia. Following leads and questioning people who spotted the two during their stops, investigators arrived at the Garret farm. There, they set up a siege around the barn in which the duo was hiding.
Investigators threatened to burn down the hideout. John tried to buy time by demanding that the soldiers away for him to surrender. Herold gave himself up, but John he resisted and only left, armed with a carbine, after the soldiers had set fire to the barn.
John was shot and died three hours later. As a last wish, he asked that his mother be told that he died for the country.