| STRANGE KENNEDY
FACTS: I had heard of the ones you listed
plus a few more.
Lincoln was elected in 1860.
Kennedy was elected in 1960.
Both of their respective assassins were killed before they were brought
to justice.
Then I decided to look it up: have fun!
Both presidents had seven letters in their last name.
Both men studied law.
Both could write well. Kennedy won the Pulitzer Prize and many of
Lincoln's written works are considered classics.
Both had lazy eye muscles, which would sometimes cause one eye to
deviate.
Both suffered from genetic diseases. It is suspected that Lincoln had
Marfan syndrome, and Kennedy suffered from Addison's disease.
Both served in the military. Lincoln was a scout captain in the Black
Hawk War, and Kennedy served as a navy lieutenant in World War II.
Both were boat captains. Lincoln was a skipper for the Talisman, a
Mississippi River boat, and Kennedy was skipper of the PT 109.
Both had no fear of their mortality and disdained bodyguards.
Both often stated how easy it would be to shoot a President. Lincoln
supposedly said, "If somebody wants to take my life, there is nothing I
can do to prevent it." Kennedy supposedly said, "If somebody wants to
shoot me from a window with a rifle, nobody can stop it."
Both received many letters threatening their lives. In the year of his
death, Lincoln received over 800 such letters, and in the year of his
death, Kennedy received over 80 letters of this type.
Both presidents were shot in the head.
Both were shot on a Friday.
In each case, the Friday was one connected to a holiday. Lincoln was
shot on Good Friday, and Kennedy was shot on the Friday before
Thanksgiving.
Both were seated beside their wives when shot.
Neither Mrs. Lincoln nor Mrs. Kennedy were injured.
Both presidents were in the company of another married couple when shot.
In each case, their male guests were injured, but not fatally. Major
Henry Rathbone was slashed by a knife, and Governor John Connally was
shot.
Both Connally´s and Rathbone´s surnames have eight letters.
Lincoln sat in Box 7 at Ford's Theatre. Kennedy rode in car 7 in the
Dallas motorcade.
Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre. Kennedy was shot in a Ford car; a
Lincoln limousine.
Both presidents died in a place with the initials P and H. Lincoln died
in the Peterson House, whilst Kennedy died at Parkland Hospital.
Military personnel performed autopsies on both presidents.
Both Lincoln and Kennedy were buried in Mahogany caskets.
Both assassins used three names: John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey
Oswald. (It should be noted that Lee Harvey Oswald was known as just Lee
Oswald prior to the assassination.)
There are 15 letters in each assassin's name.
Both assassins struck when in their mid-twenties.
Each assassin lacked a strong father-figure in his life. Booth's father
died when he was 13 years old, and Oswald's father died before he was
born.
Each assassin had two brothers whose careers they envied. Booth's two
brothers were more successful actors and Oswald envied his brothers'
military lives.
Both assassins were Privates in the military. Booth was a Private in the
Virginia Militia, and Oswald was a Private in the Marine Corps.
Both assassins were shot by religious men; Booth was killed by Boston
Corbett, a religious fanatic who castrated himself to "resist sin," and
Oswald was killed by Jack Ruby, who, according to some people, took his
faith seriously.
Both assassins are considered unpatriotic. Booth supported the
Confederacy and Oswald was a Marxist.
Both Corbett and Ruby had changed their names. Corbett's real first name
was Thomas, and Ruby's name was originally Jacob Rubenstein.
Both Corbett and Ruby were known as unstable men who were prone to
violence.
Both assassins were fond of writing down their thoughts. Booth kept a
diary and Oswald kept a journal.
Both assassins often used aliases. Booth frequently used "J. Wilkes" and
Oswald used the name "Alek J. Hidell." Both false surnames have six
letters.
Both assassins knew of their victims' whereabouts by reading about it in
newspapers.
The handyman, bill/poster distributor, and part-time concession operator
at Ford's Theatre was Joseph "Peanuts John" Burroughs. The
concession-stand operator at the Texas Theatre was Butch Burroughs.
Booth was aided in his escape from Washington by Oswald (Oswell) Swan
and Lewis Paine (also spelled Payne). Oswald got his job at the
Schoolbook Depository with the aid of Ruth Paine, his wife´s landlady.
Each assassin was detained by an officer named Baker. Lt. Luther B.
Baker was leader of the cavalry patrol which trapped Booth inside
Garrett's Barn. Officer Marion L. Baker - a Dallas motorcycle patrolman
- questioned Oswald on the second floor of the School Book Depository
until he learned that he worked there.
Both assassins were killed before they could be put on trial.
Both assassins were killed with a single shot from a Colt revolver.
Note: The manner in which Booth died is still debated. It is unsure
whether Booth committed suicide or was shot by Union soldiers.
Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and hid in a warehouse/barn, while
Oswald shot Kennedy in a warehouse and hid in a theater.
Both presidents were named after their Grandfathers.
Both were the second-born in their families.
Before they were elected to the presidency, both of them lost a sister
to whom they were very close. Lincoln's sister Sarah died whilst giving
birth in 1828, (aged 20), and Kennedy lost his 28-year-old sister
Kathleen in 1948, due to a plane crash.
Both married whilst in their thirties. Lincoln married at the age of 33,
and Kennedy married at 36.
Both married dark-haired women who were 24 years old.
Both wives (Mary Todd Lincoln and Jacqueline Kennedy) had been
previously engaged to someone else.
Both wives were from socially prominent families and both were fluent in
French.
Both wives died in their sixties. Mary Todd Lincoln died in 1882 aged 63
years and 215 days, and Jackie Kennedy died in 1994 aged 64 years and
295 days.
Both wives were known for their exquisite taste in clothes.
Both wives were criticized by their husbands for spending money.
Both couples had four children, but two died before reaching their
teens.
Both couples lost a son whilst in the White House. Willie Lincoln died
at the age of 12 in 1862, and Kennedy's son (Patrick) died two days
after his birth in 1963.
Of their four children, only one lived past the age of 40. Robert Todd
Lincoln and Caroline Bouvier Kennedy.
Lincoln had sons named Robert (Robert Todd Lincoln), and Edward. Kennedy
had brothers named Robert (Robert F. Kennedy) and Edward (Edward
Kennedy).
Both presidents were related to U.S. senators. Lincoln's cousin, General
Isaac Barnard of Pennsylvania, was first elected senator in 1827.
Kennedy's brother - Edward - was first elected in 1962, from
Massachusetts and brother Robert was elected from New York in 1964.
Shortly after his father was assassinated, Robert Todd Lincoln (with his
mother and brother) moved to 3014 N Street, N.W. in Georgetown. Shortly
after his father was assassinated, John F. Kennedy, Jr. (with his mother
and sister), moved to 3017 N Street, N.W., in Georgetown.
Both presidents were related to Democratic U.S. Attorney Generals who
graduated from Harvard University: Levi Lincoln, Sr. (under Thomas
Jefferson) and Robert F. Kennedy (under JFK).
Both presidents were related to ambassadors to the Court of St. James's
(Great Britain): Robert Todd Lincoln served as U.S. ambassador to
Britain 1889-93. Kennedy's father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. was U.S.
ambassador to Britain 1938-40.
Both presidents were friends with Illinois Democrats named Adlai E.
Stevenson. Lincoln's friend Adlai E. Stevenson became the Vice-President
under Grover Cleveland, and Adlai Stevenson III would twice run for the
U.S. presidency, in 1952 and 1956.
Both knew a doctor named Charles Taft. Lincoln was treated by Dr.
Charles Sabin Taft, M.D., who was the half-brother of his son Tad's
playmates and who was also chief surgeon at the Judiciary Square
Hospital. Kennedy knew a Dr. Charles Phelps Taft, LLD, who was the mayor
of Cincinnati, Ohio, and who was also the son of President William
Howard Taft.
Legend says Lincoln had a secretary named John Kennedy (or had the first
name of David) who told him not to go to the theatre, although no actual
record of this person can be found. Kennedy had a secretary named Evelyn
Lincoln (whose husband Harold's nickname was Abe), and she warned him
not to go to Dallas.
Both presidents were elected to the House of Representatives in '46.
Both were runners-up for the party's nomination for vice-president in
'56.
Both were elected to the presidency in '60.
Both had the legality of their elections contested.
Both were involved in famous political debates with men that were better
known. Lincoln debated Stephen Douglas in a series of debates in 1858,
and Kennedy debated the then current Vice-President Richard Nixon in
presidential election of 1960.
Both were concerned with the problems of American blacks and made their
view strongly known in '63. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation
in 1862, which became law in 1863. In 1963, Kennedy presented his
reports to Congress on Civil Rights, and the same year was the famous
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
In 1964, William O. Douglas and Harry Goldin published books entitled
Mr. Lincoln and the Negroes, and Mr. Kennedy and the Negroes.
Vice-Presidents
Southern Democrats named Johnson succeeded both Lincoln and Kennedy --
Andrew Johnson and Lyndon Baines Johnson.
Andrew Johnson was born in 1808, and Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908.
There are six letters in each Johnson's first name.
Both Johnsons were large men.
Both Johnsons were the fathers of two daughters.
Both Johnsons served in the military. Andrew was a brigadier general in
the Civil War and Lyndon was a commander in the U.S. Navy during WWII.
Both Johnsons were former southern senators.
Both Johnsons entered the presidency in their mid-fifties.
Both Johnsons had urethral stones, the only presidents to have them.
Both Johnsons faced reelection opponents whose names began with G;
Andrew Johnson could have run against Ulysses S. Grant, and Lyndon
Johnson faced Barry Goldwater in the election of 1964.
Both Johnsons chose not to run for reelection in '68.
Investigations for conspiracy were conducted for both presidential
assassinations.
Autopsies were done on both assassins to clarify identity.
Formal investigations were conducted after each presidential death.
In each case, after a number of years, the investigation was reported
without really resolving who was involved in the conspiracy. |