On April 14,1865 Abraham Lincoln was assasinated by John Wilkes Booth at Fords Theater in Washington. Every year around the anniversary, people forward the email about the "coincedents" surrounding the events of JFK's and Lincolns deaths. A good portion of the "facts" are wrong or ambigous. It's too bad because the story of the Lincoln assasination is one of the most interesting parts of American History.
John Wilkes Booth is described as an "Insane, failed actor" He was still very much in demand as an actor (although he did not accept many jobs). He was not insane by the "legal" sense of the word. He did suffer from several forms of mental health issues including alcoholism, narcissistic personality disorder and probably bi-polar disorder.
The plot was originally to kidnap Lincoln and offer him in exchange for Confederate prisoners. This plot was much larger. Several people dropped out of this plot when Booth suggested that they kidnap Lincoln in a crowded theater. Several of the conspirators felt this was not a good idea as the Washington Theaters were crowded with soldiers. It was felt people might react to Lincoln being lowered to the stage by rope surrounded by kidnappers.
John's older brother, Edwin saved Lincoln's Son Robert from falling in front of a train when the crowd surged forward as the train approached the platform they were standing on.
Mary Surratt, one of the assasination conspirators, was the first woman to be executed in the United States. The hangman was so sure that she would receive a reprieve, he did not complete the number of turns in the hangmans noose used on her.