Who was John Wilkes Booth?
The name John Wilkes Booth is associated most notoriously with the heinous crime of assassinating Abraham Lincoln. However, John had a very successful early life that is often overlooked and forgotten. John Wilkes Booth was born May 10, 1838 in a log house near Bel Air, Maryland. Like his elder brother and father, J. Wilkes Booth (as friends knew him) led a prominent life as an actor long before he was known as the man who shot the President. The Booth family name was strongly identified with American Theater in the nineteenth century. John’s father, Junius, came to the U.S. from England in 1821 and left a legacy on the American stage, which would be carried years later by his sons Edwin, John Wilkes and Junius Brutus, Jr. John began his own career in 1855, performing at the Charles Street Theater in Baltimore. Critics loved his dramatic performances and gushed over his physical beauty. Known for his climactic pauses and intense eyes, John began working regularly in stock theater in 18
