The amazing similarities between the lives and deaths of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy have already made repetitive rounds in the internet. It’s about time I added it to my trivia collection. To add value to it, I’ve attached a postscript detailing some inaccuracies that have been added to the original list of parallels and an account of how critics generally view the parallels.

Lincoln was elected to congress in 1846 and to the presidency in 1860. Kennedy was elected to congress in 1946 and to the presidency in 1960. Both were succeeded by southerners who both had the last name Johnson. Andrew Johnson who succeeded Lincoln was born in 1808. Lyndon B. Johnson who succeeded Kennedy was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth who killed Lincoln was born in 1839 while Lee Harvey Oswald who killed Kennedy was born in 1939. Both assassins were southerners, had fifteen letters to their names and died before their trials. Both presidents were shot on a Friday and were both shot in the backs of their heads in the presence of their wives. Lincoln was shot in Ford’s theater while Kennedy was shot in a Lincoln car made by Ford.

Fact or Fiction?
Fact!

Some inaccuracies have eventually been added to this trivia. One is that Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy. There is no record of this, although NY Police Superintendent John Kennedy did show concern for Lincoln’s safety and Kennedy did have a personal secretary named Lincoln who may or may not have been concerned for Kennedy’s safety.

One other glaring inaccuracy is related to where the assassins fled after their crimes. It is true that Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and eventually fled to a theater. It is also true that Booth shot Lincoln in a theater but he did not, as some sources say, flee to a warehouse. He fled to a farm and was killed there. Some sources say that two years after Booth’s death, his body stayed for awhile in a warehouse and the theater where Lincoln was shot once became partly a warehouse.

Some sources also cite Lincoln was in Monroe, Maryland a week before he died while Kennedy was with Marilyn Monroe a week before he died. It is difficult to verify these pieces of information from expert historical sources.

Critics say that there is nothing amazing about these historical parallels. It has been suggested that parallels can be found in any two people’s lives if one tried hard enough. Critics also argue that only the similarities have been mentioned. The dissimilarities in Lincoln and Kennedy’s lives have been conveniently left out.

Nonetheless, reading just the parallels can give you a somewhat creepy feeling.