Jon Wilkes Booth

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John Wilkes BoothJohn Wilkes Booth, one of America's most famous villains, was born on was born on May 10, 1838 in a large log cabin of northern Maryland. He was the ninth child out of ten; he attended Milton Boarding School for Boys near Cockeysville, Maryland. Many of the surrounding neighbors forbid their children to associate with the Booth children. At times, life was very lonely for Wilkes and his siblings. There are two conflicting opinions of John Wilkes Booth, one as the world of theater, and the other is the battle between North and South.

Booth had a very interesting acting career. He was a stage actor who had made a name for himself as a great interpretor of Shakespeare. John quickly achieved a greater population level than his father Junius Brutus Booth and older brother Edwin Booth who were also very well known actors People all over the country were in love with the tall thin dark haired stage actor from Maryland.

John Wilkes Booth also had very strong compassionate confederate feelings. He was a southern supporter who had traveled north for a theater tour. When war broke out, Wilkes remained in the north to act although he was still a strong Southern supporter. During the war, Booth helped smuggle quinine through the borders to the South because they were desperately short of it. Not long after he reached his high level of fame, he announced that he would be making his last tour.

Following his announcement, he only performed in three more shows. In his free time, he started to develop a plan to kidnap the president, who at the time was Abe Lincoln. He got together a wild group of confederates and went to the Old Soldiers Home on March 20, 1865. Lincoln never made it there that day and his plan was spoiled. About a month later, on April 14, he made his final plans to assassinate President Lincoln himself. Also Atzerodt would kill Vice President Johnson, and two other hit men would go after the Secretary of State.

While Lincoln was enjoying a play at Ford's Theater on April 14, 1865 Booth snuck into the President's box and shot him in the head. Then ran down onto the stade and shouted "Sic semper tyrannis"ÃÂ which is Virginia's motto, then ran out the back. Atzerodt backed out of his assignment, and Herold and Payne only succeeded in wounding the Vice President. About two weeks later Wilkes suffered a coward's death in a burning barn.

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