National Geographic Society

  • Connect:

Lincoln's Secret Killer

Published
  • REENACTMENT: Fords Theater Box the night of the Lincoln assassination.
  • REENACTMENT: Actress Laura Keene models her bloody dress at a party. Blood artifacts containing Abraham Lincoln's blood are needed to test his DNA for other possible killers.
  • REENACTMENT: Immediately following the assassination Laura Keene cradles Lincoln's head in her lap while Doctor Leale examines Lincoln.
  • REENACTMENT: An autopsy physician holds the bullet removed from Lincoln.
  • REENACTMENT: Lincoln takes his final breaths after being shot by J.W. Booth.
  • REENACTMENT: J. W. Booth prepares to assassinate Lincoln at Fords Theater.
  • Historian Anthony Pitch gives Dr. Sotos a tour of Ford's Theater.
  • REENACTMENT: Henry Rathbone shoots his wife in bed. Army Major Henry Rathbone and his fiance Clara Harris were the Lincolns unfortunate guests at Fords theater. Booth took out his knife and he lunged at Henry. Henry got wounded between the elbow and the shoulder. For Henry and Clara, who later married, the trauma of the assassination tragically altered the course of their lives. Henry gradually descended into madness. 18 years later he reenacted the crime, killing his wife and wounding himself.
  • Fords Theater, in Washington, DC, where Abraham Lincoln was shot.
  • Orange droplets of PCR mixture - possibly containing Lincoln's DNA.
  • Scientists look for ancient DNA in a possible Lincoln hair sample.
  • PCR test tubes possibly containing Lincoln's DNA.
  • Geneticist Dr. Reed Pyeritz. He is helping determine whether or not President Lincoln may have had a genetic disorder called Marfan syndrome. People with this syndrome tend to be quite tall.
  • Lincoln's likeness on a five dollar bill. The first Lincoln bill was produced in 1914.
  • CGI IMAGE: Degraded DNA.
  • CGI IMAGE: Unfurled DNA - Polymerase Chain Reaction. This amplified copies of certain pieces of DNA.
  • REENACTMENT: Two physicians completing the autopsy examine a bruise on Lincoln's left shoulder.

  • Deadly Booth

    Photograph by NGT

    REENACTMENT: Fords Theater Box the night of the Lincoln assassination. 

  • Recovered DNA

    Photograph by NGT

    REENACTMENT: Actress Laura Keene models her bloody dress at a party. Blood artifacts containing Abraham Lincoln's blood are needed to test his DNA for other possible killers. 

  • Comforting the President

    Photograph by NGT

    REENACTMENT: Immediately following the assassination Laura Keene cradles Lincoln's head in her lap while Doctor Leale examines Lincoln.

  • Recovering the Bullet

    Photograph by NGT

    REENACTMENT: An autopsy physician holds the bullet removed from Lincoln.

  • On His Deathbed

    Photograph by NGT

    REENACTMENT: Lincoln takes his final breaths after being shot by J.W. Booth.

  • The Assassination

    Photograph by NGT

    REENACTMENT: J. W. Booth prepares to assassinate Lincoln at Fords Theater.

  • Theater Tour

    Photograph by NGT

    Historian Anthony Pitch gives Dr. Sotos a tour of Ford's Theater.

  • A Tragic Killing

    Photograph by NGT

    REENACTMENT: Henry Rathbone shoots his wife in bed.  Army Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée Clara Harris were the Lincoln’s unfortunate guests at Ford’s theater.  Booth took out his knife and he lunged at Henry.  Henry got wounded between the elbow and the shoulder.  For Henry and Clara, who later married, the trauma of the assassination tragically altered the course of their lives.  Henry gradually descended into madness.  18 years later he reenacted the crime, killing his wife and wounding himself.  

  • Where the President Was Shot

    Photograph by NGT

    Fords Theater, in Washington, DC, where Abraham Lincoln was shot.

  • Laying Lines

    Photograph by NGT

    Orange droplets of PCR mixture - possibly containing Lincoln's DNA.

  • Lincoln's Hair

    Photograph by NGT

    Scientists look for ancient DNA in a possible Lincoln hair sample.

  • Presidential Genetics

    Photograph by NGT

    PCR test tubes possibly containing Lincoln's DNA.

  • Dr. Reed Pyeritz

    Photograph by NGT

    Geneticist Dr. Reed Pyeritz.  He is helping determine whether or not President Lincoln may have had a genetic disorder called Marfan syndrome.  People with this syndrome tend to be quite tall.

  • Money Maker

    Photograph by NGT

    Lincoln's likeness on a five dollar bill.  The first Lincoln bill was produced in 1914.

  • Broken Down DNA

    Photograph by NGT

    CGI IMAGE: Degraded DNA. 

  • Digital DNA

    Photograph by NGT

    CGI IMAGE: Unfurled DNA - Polymerase Chain Reaction.  This is amplified copies of certain pieces of DNA.

  • Deep Bruising

    Photograph by NGT

    REENACTMENT: Two physicians completing the autopsy examine a bruise on Lincoln's left shoulder.

0 comments
  Livefyre
Newest | Oldest