Lincoln-Kennedy coincidences
A popular myth relates a number of coincidences having to do with US Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy. Some are true but inconsequential; others are fabrications or simply wrong. While finding obscure correlations between famous people as well as their 'debunking' is an entertaining pastime for some, often the practice is taken too seriously.
Table of contents |
Family
- Both were the second born child in their families.
- British ambassador
- Both had at least four children.
Marriage
- Both Lincoln and Kennedy did not marry until they were well over thirty years old. They each married a woman about 24 years old from a wealthy family who spoke French.
- At age 33 Lincoln married Mary Todd in 1842. She was actually 23 years 326 days old.
- At age 36 Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953. She was actually 24 years 46 days old.
Family Tragedy
- Both had a sister to whom they were very close and who died young.
- Both Lincoln and Kennedy lost a child when they were President.
- Of their children, only one survived past age 40.
Career
- Both studied law.
- Both served their country as war veterans.
- Lincoln in The Black Hawk War
- Kennedy in World War II on the PT-109
- Elected to Congress a century apart
- Elected President a century apart
- Before becoming President, both Kennedy and Lincoln gained fame in a series of debates with better-known opponents.
- Lincoln debated Stephen Douglas
- Kennedy debated Richard Nixon
- Each President also had a monumental event in civil rights that took place a century apart.
- In 1863, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
- In 1963 there was the great march on Washington during President Kennedy's term.
- Both presidents were succeeded by men surnamed Johnson and born a century apart.
- Both wanted to switch running mates in their '64 re-election. Lincoln replaced Hannibal Hamlin with Andrew Johnson on the 1864 presidential ticket. Kennedy was rumored to have wanted to replace Lyndon Johnson with another running mate in the 1964 election.
- Both Johnsons either signed or vetoed a civil rights bill.
- Lincoln had a secretary called David Kennedy — Kennedy had a secretary by the name of Evelyn Lincoln.
- Both were Northern politicians who were assassinated by Southern sympathizers and succeeded by Southerner politicians.
Assassination
- Both were assassinated with a gunshot to the head.
- Both were sitting next to their wives when they were shot.
- In each assassination, they were with another couple and the man of that couple was also wounded.
- Major Henry Rathbone, who was in the box with Lincoln, was slashed by Booth's knife.
- Governor John Connally was also shot.
- Booth shot Lincoln in a theatre, was himself shot and captured in a tobacco shed, and died later — Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse, was captured in the Texas Theater, and was himself shot later.
- Kennedy was travelling in a Ford Lincoln — Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theatre.
- Both were assassinated on a Friday preceding a holiday.
- Lincoln was shot on Good Friday, two days before Easter.
- Kennedy was shot on the Friday before Thanksgiving.
- Both men made prophetic statements on the days of their assassinations which were both 16 words long:
- Lincoln said: "If somebody wants to take my life, there is nothing I can do to prevent it."
- Kennedy said: "If somebody wants to shoot me from a window with a rifle, nobody can stop it."
Assassin
- The assassins were born a century apart.
- Each assassin came from a troubled family that lacked a father figure.
- Each assassin had an older brother whom they tried to emulate.
- Booth had a brother named Edwin who was a much more acclaimed actor.
- Oswald had a brother named Robert whom he envied.
- The assassins were both shot before they could stand trial.
- Booth's earlier attempt at kidnapping President Lincoln failed – Oswald's earlier assassination attempt of General Edwin Walker failed.
Names & Numbers
- Both Vice Presidents have 6 letters in their first names and 7 in their last.
- Both assassins, known by three names, have 15 letters in their names.
Skeptical
As noted, most of the items mentioned are purely coincidental. For example:
- With only seven days in the week, the odds of the second assassination falling on the same day as the first one are rather high.
Some items are false, some inaccurate, and some misleading, for example:
- There is no record of a Lincoln secretary named Kennedy.
- Neither President, coincidentally, was particularly concerned with civil rights.
In 1992, the Skeptical Inquirer ran a "Spooky Presidential Coincidences Contest". One winner found a series of sixteen similar coincidences between Kennedy and former Mexican President Álvaro Obregón, while the other came up with similar lists for twenty-one pairs of US Presidents. [1]
- Booth was part of a conspiracy while Oswald was found to have acted alone.
External link
Categories: Abraham Lincoln