Lincoln–Kennedy coincidences urban legend
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Claimed coincidences connecting
U.S. Presidents The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term Term may refer to: * Terminology, or term, a noun or compound word used in a specific context, in pa ...
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
and
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
are a piece of American
folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
of unknown origin. The list of
coincidence A coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances that have no apparent causal connection with one another. The perception of remarkable coincidences may lead to supernatural, occult, or paranormal claims, or it may lead t ...
s appeared in the mainstream American press in 1964, a year after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, having appeared prior to that in the
GOP The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act, ...
Congressional Committee Newsletter.''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'', August 10, 1964
In the 1970s, Martin Gardner examined the list in an article in ''
Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...
'' (later reprinted in his 1985 book, ''The Magic Numbers of
Dr. Matrix Irving Joshua Matrix — previously known as Irving Joshua Bush and commonly known as Dr. (I. J.) Matrix — is a fictitious polymath scientist, scholar, cowboy, and entrepreneur who made extraordinary contributions to perpetual motion engineering ...
''), pointing out that several of the claimed coincidences were based on misinformation.''The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix'' By Martin Gardner. 1985. Prometheus Books. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 84-43183, (cloth), 0-87975-282-3 (paper) (This was previously titled ''The Numerology of Dr. Matrix.'' It contains all of ''The Incredible Dr. Matrix'' plus four more chapters.) Gardner's version of the list contained 16 items; many subsequent versions have circulated much longer lists. A 1999 examination by Snopes found that the listed "coincidences are easily explained as the simple product of mere chance." In 1992, the '' Skeptical Inquirer'' ran a "Spooky Presidential Coincidences Contest." One winner found a series of sixteen similar coincidences between Kennedy and former
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
President Álvaro Obregón, while the other came up with similar lists for twenty-one pairs of U.S. presidents.


List

The following are the list of "coincidences" that are commonly associated with the conspiracy, some of which are not true statements: * "Lincoln" and "Kennedy" each have seven letters. Accessed June 3, 2022. * Both presidents were elected to Congress in '46 and later to the presidency in '60. * Both assassins, John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald, were born in '39 and were known by their three names, composed of fifteen letters. * Booth ran from a theater and was caught in a warehouse; Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater. * The assassins were both Southerners. * Both of the presidents' successors were named Johnson and born in '08. * Both Lincoln and Kennedy were particularly concerned with civil rights and made their views strongly known. * Both presidents were shot in the head on a Friday. * Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy who told him not to go to Ford's Theatre. Kennedy had a secretary named
Evelyn Lincoln Evelyn Maurine Norton Lincoln (June 25, 1909 – May 11, 1995) was the personal secretary to John F. Kennedy from his election to the United States Senate in 1953 until his 1963 assassination. Lincoln, who was in the motorcade when Kennedy was ...
and she warned him not to go to
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. * Both Oswald and Booth were assassinated before they could be put on trial. * Both Lincoln and Kennedy were white.


Accuracy


True statements

* Both were elected to congress in '46: Lincoln was elected in 1846 from Illinois, and Kennedy was elected in 1946 from Massachusetts. * Both were elected to the presidency in '60: Lincoln was elected in 1860, and Kennedy was elected in 1960. * Both have seven letters in their last names ("Lincoln" and "Kennedy"). * Both were concerned with civil rights: **Lincoln felt strongly that all slaves should be freed and issued the
Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal sta ...
, which legally freed slaves within the Confederacy. **Kennedy was concerned with racial equality and was the first to propose what would be the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
. *Both married in their 30s to women who were in their 20s: **Lincoln was married on November 4, 1842, Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, making him 33 years old at the time of his wedding. Lincoln's bride, Mary Anne Todd, was born on December 13, 1818, making her 23 years old at the time of the wedding. **Kennedy was married on September 12, 1953, Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, making him 36 years old at the time of his wedding. Kennedy's bride,
Jacqueline Bouvier Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...
, was born on July 28, 1929, making her 24 years old at the time of the wedding. * Both were shot on a Friday: Lincoln was shot on
Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...
, April 14, 1865, and Kennedy was shot on Friday, November 22, 1963. * Both were shot in the head. (Lincoln and Kennedy). *Both of the presidents' successors were named Johnson: Lincoln was succeeded by
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...
, and Kennedy was succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson. *Both were succeeded by Southerners: Andrew Johnson was from
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, and Lyndon B. Johnson was from
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. *Both successors were born in '08: Andrew Johnson was born December 29, 1808, and Lyndon B. Johnson was born August 27, 1908 *Both assassins, John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald, are known by their three names, although this is common for many notorious assassins who are covered by the press (see Mark David Chapman). This is routinely done by the press to avoid tarnishing the reputations of people with similar names (i.e. there are many John Booths, Lee Oswalds, and Mark Chapmans). *Each assassin's full name is composed of fifteen letters.


Uncertain assumptions

*Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials: **On April 26, 1865, after refusing to surrender, John Wilkes Booth was assassinated by Sergeant Boston Corbett. **On November 24, 1963, on his way to the county jail, Lee Harvey Oswald was assassinated by night club owner
Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; April 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner and alleged associate of the Chicago Outfit who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of th ...
.


False assumptions

* Although President Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln, President Lincoln did not have a secretary named Kennedy. Lincoln's secretaries were John G. Nicolay and
John M. Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was Un ...
* *Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse, and Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater **Booth did run from Ford's Theatre where he shot Lincoln, but was caught in a barn in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, not a warehouse. **Oswald fled from the
Texas School Book Depository The Texas School Book Depository, now known as the Dallas County Administration Building, is a seven-floor building facing Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. The building was Lee Harvey Oswald's vantage point during the assassination of United Sta ...
, which was a warehouse where Oswald worked and from where he had shot Kennedy, and was arrested in a movie theater. *John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839 and Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939 **Oswald was born in 1939, but Booth was born in 1838. *Both presidents were assassinated by Southerners **Oswald was born in New Orleans, but Booth, a Confederate/Southern sympathizer, was born in Maryland, a Union state.


Analysis

Some urban folklorists have postulated that the list provided a way for people to make sense of two tragic events in American history by seeking out patterns. Gardner and others have said that it is relatively easy to find seemingly meaningful patterns relating any two people or events. The psychological phenomenon of
apophenia Apophenia () is the tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things. The term (German: ' from the Greek verb ''ἀποφαίνειν'' (apophaínein)) was coined by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad in his 1958 publication on the b ...
- defined as "the tendency to perceive order in random configurations" - has been proposed as a possible reason for the lists's enduring popularity. Most of the items above are true, such as the year in which Lincoln and Kennedy were each elected President, but this is not so unusual given that Presidential elections are held only every four years. A few of the items are simply untrue: for example, Lincoln never had a secretary named Kennedy; Lincoln's secretaries were
John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was Un ...
and John G. Nicolay. However, Lincoln's footman,
William H. Crook William Henry Crook (October 15, 1839March 13, 1915) was one of President Abraham Lincoln's bodyguards in 1865. After Lincoln's assassination (while Crook was off duty), he continued to work in the White House for a total of more than 50 years, ...
did advise Lincoln not to go that night to Ford's Theatre. David Mikklenson, on Snopes, also points out numerous ways in which Lincoln and Kennedy don't match, to show the superficial nature of the alleged coincidences: For example, Lincoln was born in 1809 but Kennedy in 1917; though Lincoln and Kennedy were both elected in '60, Lincoln was already in his second term when assassinated but Kennedy was not, and neither the years, months, nor dates of their assassinations match.


Musical remembrance

Buddy Starcher wrote a song recounting many of these coincidences and parallels between the two presidents' careers and deaths entitled " History Repeats Itself." It became a U.S. Top 40 hit for him during the spring of 1966,''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990'' - and reached number two on the
Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
chart.
Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...
also scored a minor chart hit with the song that same year.


See also

* Birthday problem *
Data dredging Data dredging (also known as data snooping or ''p''-hacking) is the misuse of data analysis to find patterns in data that can be presented as statistically significant, thus dramatically increasing and understating the risk of false positives. ...
*
Dark Side of the Rainbow Dark Side of the Rainbow – also known as Dark Side of Oz or The Wizard of Floyd – is the pairing of the 1973 Pink Floyd album ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' with the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz.'' This produces moments of apparent synchronici ...
*
Kennedy curse The Kennedy curse is a series of premature deaths, accidents, assassinations, and other calamities involving members of the American Kennedy family. The alleged curse has primarily struck the children and descendants of businessman Joseph P. Kenn ...


References


External links


"Linkin' Kennedy" article
at
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln-Kennedy Coincidences Urban Legend Abraham Lincoln-related lists American folklore Assassination of Abraham Lincoln Assassination of John F. Kennedy Coincidence John F. Kennedy-related lists Urban legends