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John Wilkes Booth was born on a farm near Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland into a family of actors. Booth led a happy childhood and recieved and education in the classics (particularly Shakespeare).
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Booth's lifespan wasn't the longest, but it certainly held many important events within. (any event with a date saying "1st Jan" is unkown)
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John Wilkes Booth attended St. Timothy's Military Academy near Baltimore and met Samuel Arnold & Michael O'Laughlen. These two men would be involved with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln later on in life. (exact date of this event is unkown)
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1855 - 1859: Booth began making a name for himself as a very well known and successful stage actor. He was loved by many and some say he was one of the most famous actors out there at the time. (exact date of this event is unkown)
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By the time Abraham Lincoln was elected, Booth had become a strong supporter of the South and it's institution of slavery. Most to all of Booth's family supported the Union.
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The Civil War had just broken out and 11 Southern states seceded from the Union because they wanted to be their own country and make their own laws. Booth still continued to perform on stage during the war but was loud and clear with his love of the South and his hatred for Lincoln.
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The Civil War was starting to shift into the North's favor at this time and Booth began planning to kidnap Abraham Lincoln. The plan was to hold Lincoln as ransom in order for Southern soldiers to be released from Northern prisons. (exact date of this event is unkown)
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Booth learned at the last minute that Lincoln would be attending a performance at a hospital near a Soldier's Home. Booth then rounded up his crew to kidnap Lincoln on his way to the hospital but Lincoln never showed up.
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That night, Booth walked right into Ford's Theatre, climbed the stairs into the President's viewing box and shot Abraham Lincoln at close range with a .44 caliber Derringer Pistol. Booth then lept from the box onto the stage below yelling, "The South is Avenged!" and ran off with a reportedly broken leg. Booth had complete access to the theatre day and night due to his family's close ties with the theatre's owner.
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On the morning of Good Friday, Booth learned that the President and his wife would be attending the play, "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre. Booth immediatly began planning for the assassination of Lincoln and his escape route. He had intended to throw the Union government into a state of panic so the Confederate government would take the oportunity to reorganize and continue the war.
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John Wilkes Booth began his long escape journey by foot right after the assassination. Booth was chased by Union soldiers all the way through Southern Maryland and across the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers to Richard Garrett's farm near Bowling Green Virginia.
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John Wilkes Booth died on Richard Garrett's farm near Bowling Green Virginia. Early in the morning, Union Soldiers caught up with Booth and trapped him in a tobacco barn which was set on fire when Booth refused to surrender. Booth was then shot in the neck, dragged from the fire and died on the porch of the farmhouse. His last words were, "Useless! Useless!"
