John Wilkes Booth (1838–1865) was an American stage actor and Confederate sympathizer, infamous for assassinating President Abraham Lincoln. Born on May 10, 1838, in Bel Air, Maryland, Booth came from a prominent theatrical family, with his father, Junius Brutus Booth, and brother, Edwin Booth, being celebrated actors.
Booth was a staunch supporter of slavery and the Southern cause during the American Civil War. Initially, he conspired to kidnap Lincoln to leverage the release of Confederate prisoners, but the plan evolved into a plot to assassinate key government officials. On April 14, 1865, Booth fatally shot Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., during a performance of Our American Cousin. He fled the scene and was pursued in a massive manhunt.
Twelve days later, Booth was tracked to a barn in Virginia, where he was fatally shot by Union soldiers.
