President Abraham Lincoln is shot, April 14th, 1865
John Wilkes Booth takes a bold step out of the shadows, derringer clutched in his right fist and knife in his left. He extends his arm and aims for the back of Abraham Lincoln’s head. Booth pulls the trigger. Lincoln slumps forward in his rocking chair. Booth drops the derringer and steps to the front of the presidential box. “Freedom!” he bellows. He hurls his body over the railing, onto the stage of Ford’s Theatre. ‘Sic semper tyrannis!’ he yells. The theater explodes in confusion. Booth slashes at anyone who gets in his way. He disappears into the night.