On April 14, 1865, the actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth (1838–1865) killed President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) during a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The attack came only 5 days after General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Booth went into hiding, but was found and killed two weeks later by Union troops. Four of his co-conspirators, including David Herold (1842–1865) and Mary Surratt (1823–1865), mother of John (1844–1916), were convicted and hanged on July 7, 1865. Gift of J. Dennis Delafield, Class of 1957, and Penelope D. Johnson. Delafield Family Papers, Manuscripts Division.

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