Lincoln/Kennedy; Kennedy/Lincoln. Quiz

Answer: True

This is factually correct. Lincoln and Kennedy were elected into congress one hundred years apart: Lincoln in 1846, and Kennedy in 1946. They were elected president one hundred years apart too: Lincoln in 1860, and Kennedy in 1960.

Because the number "100" is a nice round number, people seem to see it as somehow 'strange' or 'remarkable'. But if the gap between their elections were fifty years, or thirty years, would it have been considered a coincidence? However, whilst it may be a coincidence that they were elected into congress one hundred years apart, as elections are only held once every four years, it would make sense that they would both be elected president one hundred years apart also.

LINCOLN/KENNEDY DISSIMILARITY: Lincoln was born in 1809; Kennedy in 1917. (Although if you add up the numbers in 1809, it comes to 18; and if you add up the numbers in 1917, it come to....18! Spooky?)

Answer: True

Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, had four boys: Robert, Edward (Eddie), William (Willie) and Thomas (Tad). Before Lincoln became president, he and his wife lost their son, Eddie, in February 1850 to what was thought to be diphtheria, but is now thought to have been pulmonary tuberculosis. During Lincoln's presidency, on February 20 1862, he and Mary lost their third born, Willie, to what was thought to be typhoid fever. Robert and Tad outlived their father, but six years after his assassination, Tad passed away also, from tuberculosis.

John F Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy, had two children by the time Kennedy was inaugurated: Caroline and John Jr. Previously, Jackie Kennedy had had a miscarriage and a stillbirth. But sadly, when Jackie gave birth prematurely to Patrick Bouvier, on August 7, 1963, he died two days later.

President Coolidge also lost a son whilst living in the White House. His second son, Calvin Jr, died at sixteen years of age from blood poisoning. And President Cleveland lost his first-born - Ruth - during his time as president, when she was only twelve years old, due to diphtheria.

LINCOLN/KENNEDY DISSIMILARITY: Lincoln's religion has been a matter of controversy. In a biography written by his bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon, Lamon writes "Mr. Lincoln was never a member of any church, nor did he believe in the divinity of Christ, or the inspiration of the Scriptures in the sense understood by evangelical Christians." Kennedy was a Roman Catholic.

Answer: False

Evelyn Lincoln was secretary to President Kennedy; that much we do know. But it has yet to be found that Lincoln had a secretary named 'Kennedy'. As regards the alleged warnings, Evelyn Lincoln, among others, did warn the president not to go to Dallas, to which she said he replied "Mrs Lincoln, I can't be afraid to go out in the public. Do you know, if they want to get me, they can get me in church. I'm still going to Dallas".

But unfortunately, presidents can receive several threats during their presidency, and consequently, several warnings not to attend something. Apparently, Lincoln had been warned not to attend the play at the Ford's Theater where he was shot; but he had also been warned not to attend a particular event the week before, and even not to attend his own inauguration. According to "ourwhitehouse.org", Lincoln received over 10,000 death threats. Lincoln apparently remarked on these by saying "I cannot bring myself to believe that any human being lives who would do me any harm."

LINCOLN/KENNEDY DISSIMILARITY: Lincoln is portrayed on the United States one cent coin, and on the US five dollar bill. Kennedy is portrayed on the United States fifty cent coin, but on no paper bills.

Answer: True

While some see this as a remarkable coincidence, others feel it is not so. If someone intends to kill another by shooting them, the most likely places to shoot would be the head or the chest. Both presidents were shot from behind, and while seated, so the back of the head would be the most likely place to shoot.

Two other presidents were also assassinated while they were in office: James A Garfield, and William McKinley. Both were shot, and their assassins were caught and sentenced to death.

LINCOLN/KENNEDY DISSIMILARITY: Kennedy went to Harvard; Lincoln did not attend college.

Answer: False

Lincoln and Kennedy were both assassinated on a Friday: Lincoln on Friday April 14, 1865: and Kennedy on Friday November 22, 1963. However, Kennedy died when he got to the hospital. He went to the emergency room at Parkland Hospital, where on arrival, staff commented that he had no chance of survival. Lincoln was taken to Peterson House, which was across the street from Ford's Theater. He remained unconscious for nine hours, before dying at 7.20am on the Saturday morning. Is it also a coincidence that the two presidents died in places with the same initials: PH - Parkland Hospital and Peterson House?

However, they were both shot on a Friday. But is this really a coincidence? There are seven days in a week, so in one way, I suppose it is. But equally, the odds of one in seven aren't so huge...

LINCOLN/KENNEDY DISSIMILARITY: Lincoln was re-elected into a second term as president, whereas Kennedy was assassinated before finishing his first term as president.

Answer: True

On the night Lincoln was assassinated, he had sent his bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon, to an assignment in Richmond, Virginia. By all accounts, Lamon had been devoted to Lincoln's protection, and in his posthumously published biography - "Recollections of Abraham Lincoln" - Lamon writes that he had begged Lincoln not to "go out at night after [he] was gone, particularly to the theatre". According to Lamon, Lincoln had dreamt of his own death a few nights before it happened. Lamon was apparently present as Lincoln recalled his dream:

"About ten days ago, I retired very late. I had been up waiting for important dispatches from the front. I could not have been long in bed when I fell into a slumber, for I was weary. I soon began to dream. There seemed to be a death-like stillness about me. Then I heard subdued sobs, as if a number of people were weeping. I thought I left my bed and wandered downstairs. There the silence was broken by the same pitiful sobbing, but the mourners were invisible. I went from room to room; no living person was in sight, but the same mournful sounds of distress met me as I passed along. I saw light in all the rooms; every object was familiar to me; but where were all the people who were grieving as if their hearts would break? I was puzzled and alarmed. What could be the meaning of all this? Determined to find the cause of a state of things so mysterious and so shocking, I kept on until I arrived at the East Room, which I entered. There I met with a sickening surprise. Before me was a catafalque, on which rested a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments. Around it were stationed soldiers who were acting as guards; and there was a throng of people, gazing mournfully upon the corpse, whose face was covered, others weeping pitifully. 'Who is dead in the White House?' I demanded of one of the soldiers, 'The President,' was his answer; 'he was killed by an assassin.' Then came a loud burst of grief from the crowd, which woke me from my dream. I slept no more that night; and although it was only a dream, I have been strangely annoyed by it ever since."

President Kennedy was being driven in a 'Lincoln Continental' when he was assassinated. The car was made by 'Ford'. After Kennedy's death, the car was impounded for evidence, and was then used occasionally by other presidents. The car can now be seen at the "Henry Ford Museum" in Dearborn, Michigan.

LINCOLN/KENNEDY DISSIMILARITY: Lincoln was a Republican; Kennedy a Democrat.

Answer: True

Andrew Johnson became the 17th President of the United States after Lincoln's assassination. He was a democrat, and remained president until 1869, and was followed by Ulysses S. Grant.

Lyndon Baines Johnson became President of the United States immediately after Kennedy's assassination. He was sworn-in on board 'Air Force One' about ninety minutes after Kennedy was pronounced dead. He was in the presence of Jackie Kennedy as he took the oath. He is the only president thus far to be sworn-in as president on board 'Air Force One'. He remained president throughout the rest of what would have been Kennedy's term, and then won the next election in his own right. He died in January 1973, from a heart attack at the age of 64.

Andrew Johnson was born in 1808, and Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908. There's that nice one hundred year gap again. Also, Andrew Johnson and Lyndon Johnson have 13 letters in their names (something about 'scraping the barrel'?)

LINCOLN/KENNEDY DISSIMILARITY: Kennedy had a wealthy upbringing; Lincoln did not.

Answer: False

This piece of information is often included in the list of Lincoln and Kennedy coincidences. But Booth was actually born in 1838, making it incorrect.

However, another coincidence on this list, is that both assassins have three names, consisting of fifteen letters each in total. John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald were Lincoln and Kennedy's assassins respectively. Some theorists who dislike the "Lincoln/Kennedy List of Coincidences" point out that Booth was often known as 'John Wilkes' or as 'J. Wilkes Booth'; and Oswald was known as simply 'Lee Oswald'. They say that the regular use of their three names only occurred after the assassinations. However, they are now known by their three names, and these names are made up of fifteen letters.

Another similarity that is often mentioned is the fact that Lincoln and Kennedy both had seven letters in their last names. Although so did James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, Warren G Harding, Lyndon B Johnson, and Bill Clinton. It does narrow the 'coincidence' side of it down a bit. Adding to this, it has been pointed out that the vowels and consonants in Lincoln and Kennedy's names fall in the same place: consonant/vowel/consonant/consonant/vowel/consonant/consonant.

(I need to spend my time differently)

LINCOLN/KENNEDY DISSIMILARITY: Kennedy won a 'Pulitzer' in 1957, for his book "Profiles in Courage", making him the only president thus far to win this prize.

Answer: False

The similarity here is that both John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald were actually killed before either could face trial. Booth died on April 26, 1865. After the assassination, he and a co-conspirator, David Herold, fled the theater, and eventually made their way to a farm owned by Richard H Garrett, in Caroline County in Virginia. They hid in a tobacco barn, and on the morning of the 26th, were surrounded by soldiers who set the barn on fire. But then Booth was shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett, who claimed that Booth was going to shoot at them; although this was refuted by Lieutenant Colonel Everton Conger, who was present at the shooting, who said Corbett shot "without order, pretext or excuse".

Lee Harvey Oswald was shot by an assassin named Jack Ruby, two days after Kennedy had been assassinated. Shortly after the assassination, Oswald was seen slipping into a theater having not paid for his ticket. The theater ticket clerk alerted the police. Oswald was already a suspect in the assassination, and spent two days being interrogated. On Sunday, November 24, Oswald was led through a corridor of the Dallas Police Headquarters, amongst a throng of people. Dallas nightclub owner, Jack Ruby, leapt out of the crowd and shot Oswald in the stomach. Television cameras were filming at the time this happened, for a live national broadcast; meaning that the assassination of Oswald aired in front of the nation. Oswald was taken to the Parkland Hospital, and died where Kennedy had died two days earlier.

Although Oswald was killed before he could stand trial, and therefore could not be proven to have assassinated President Kennedy, several government investigations have since found him to be guilty of this crime.

LINCOLN/KENNEDY DISSIMILARITIES: Lincoln was unsuccessful in his bid for candidacy for the United States Senate twice. Kennedy was successful in both his elections to the Senate.

Answer: False

Firstly, Marilyn Monroe had died over a year before President Kennedy. She died on August 5, 1962; Kennedy died on November 22, 1963. As it has been rumored that Marilyn Monroe had had an affair with President Kennedy, it seems that this final 'similarity' between Lincoln and Kennedy is just a cheap shot at trying to milk the 'coincidence list' as much as possible. As for Lincoln being in Monroe, I personally cannot find any mention of this anywhere, or, indeed, a mention of a place called Monroe in Maryland. If anyone can enlighten me, please do. Thank you!

LINCOLN KENNEDY DISSIMILARITY: Lincoln had no middle name; Kennedy did - 'Fitzgerald'.