Lincoln–Kennedy coincidences urban legend: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Reverting possible vandalism by 132.3.33.81 to version by Addbot. False positive? Report it. Thanks, ClueBot NG. (1531175) (Bot)
Line 2: Line 2:
The '''coincidences between [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[John F. Kennedy]]''' are a piece of American [[Urban Legend|folklore]] of unknown origin. The list of coincidences appeared in the mainstream [[Media of the United States|American press]] in 1964, a year after the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]], having appeared prior to that in the ''G.O.P. Congressional Committee Newsletter''.<ref name=Time640821>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,876021,00.html A Compendium of Curious Coincidences], ''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]'', August 21, 1964</ref><ref name=Newsweek640810>''[[Newsweek]]'', August 10, 1964</ref> [[Martin Gardner]] debunked much of the list in an article in ''[[Scientific American]]'', later reprinted in his book, ''The Magic Numbers of [[Dr. Matrix]]''.<ref name=Dr_Matrix>''The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix'' By [[Martin Gardner]]. 1985. [[Prometheus Books]]. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 84-43183, ISBN 0-87975-281-5 (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.)</ref> Gardner's version of the list contained 16 items; many subsequent versions have circulated having much longer lists. The list is still in circulation today, having endured in the popular imagination for over 40 years. A more recent debunking of the list is available online at [[Snopes.com]].<ref name="snopes">{{Snopes | link=http://www.snopes.com/history/american/lincoln-kennedy.asp | title=Linkin' Kennedy}}</ref>
The '''coincidences between [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[John F. Kennedy]]''' are a piece of American [[Urban Legend|folklore]] of unknown origin. The list of coincidences appeared in the mainstream [[Media of the United States|American press]] in 1964, a year after the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]], having appeared prior to that in the ''G.O.P. Congressional Committee Newsletter''.<ref name=Time640821>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,876021,00.html A Compendium of Curious Coincidences], ''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]'', August 21, 1964</ref><ref name=Newsweek640810>''[[Newsweek]]'', August 10, 1964</ref> [[Martin Gardner]] debunked much of the list in an article in ''[[Scientific American]]'', later reprinted in his book, ''The Magic Numbers of [[Dr. Matrix]]''.<ref name=Dr_Matrix>''The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix'' By [[Martin Gardner]]. 1985. [[Prometheus Books]]. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 84-43183, ISBN 0-87975-281-5 (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.)</ref> Gardner's version of the list contained 16 items; many subsequent versions have circulated having much longer lists. The list is still in circulation today, having endured in the popular imagination for over 40 years. A more recent debunking of the list is available online at [[Snopes.com]].<ref name="snopes">{{Snopes | link=http://www.snopes.com/history/american/lincoln-kennedy.asp | title=Linkin' Kennedy}}</ref>


Lincoln Killed JFK.
== The list ==
JFK was responsible for 9/11.
An example of the list is presented here for illustration. Much of the list has been debunked, and some entries are outright falsehoods. 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.<ref name="snopes"/> Gardner and others have said that it is relatively easy to find seemingly meaningful patterns relating any two people or events, but that such patterns often do not stand up to rigorous scrutiny.
Osama killed Lincoln

<!-- Please DO NOT expand this list. This is an article *about* the list, not a place to compile an even larger list. This short list is meant to be illustrative of the more common elements found in the various circulating versions of the list. -->
<!-- Please DO NOT fact tag this list. The sources are listed in the References section. Many of the items on the list are untrue - this is noted in the text. The list is here to illustrate the nature of the Lincoln/Kennedy Coincidences urban legend. This is an article about folklore; these items are no more expected to be verifiable than the plot of a fictional movie would be, yet it is perfectly acceptable to include a movie synopsis in Wikipedia. -->
* Both presidents were elected to the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] in '46.
* Both presidents were elected to the [[President of the United States|presidency]] in '60.
* Lincoln defeated incumbent Vice President [[John C. Breckenridge]] for the presidency in 1860; Kennedy defeated incumbent Vice President [[Richard M. Nixon]] for the presidency in 1960.
* Both their predecessors left office in their seventies and retired to [[Pennsylvania]]. [[James Buchanan]], whom Lincoln succeeded, retired to [[Lancaster Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster Township]]; [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], whom Kennedy succeeded, retired to [[Gettysburg, Pennsylvania|Gettysburg]].
* Both their Vice Presidents and successors were Southern Democrats named Johnson who were born in '08.
* Both presidents were concerned with the problems of [[African American|black Americans]] and made their views strongly known in '63. Lincoln signed the [[Emancipation Proclamation]] in 1862, which became law in 1863. In 1963, Kennedy presented his reports to Congress on [[African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955&ndash;1968)|Civil Rights]], and the same year was the famous [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]].
* Both presidents were shot in the head.
* Both presidents were shot from behind.
* Both presidents were shot on a Friday in the presence of their wives.
* Both presidents were accompanied by another couple.
* The male companion of the other couple was wounded by the assassin.
* Both presidents had a son die during their presidency.
* Lincoln was shot by [[John Wilkes Booth]] at [[Ford's Theatre]]; Kennedy was shot by [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] in a [[Lincoln (automobile)|Lincoln]] automobile, made by [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]].
* Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy who told him not to go to the theatre; Kennedy had a secretary named [[Evelyn Lincoln]] who warned him not to go to [[Dallas]].
* Both presidents' last names have 7 letters.
* Both presidents have five syllables in their full name (which counts Kennedy's middle initial).
* There are 6 letters in each Johnson's first name.
* Booth ran from a theatre to a warehouse; Oswald ran from a warehouse to a theatre.
* Both Johnsons were succeeded as President in '69 by Republicans whose mothers were named Hannah.

<!-- Please DO NOT expand this list. This is an article *about* the list, not a place to compile an even larger list. This short list is meant to be illustrative of the more common elements found in the various circulating versions of the list. -->

Some 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, and both started their political careers 100 years apart. Other items twist the truth. Some of the items are simply untrue; there is no record to show that Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy; Lincoln's secretaries were [[John Hay]] and [[John G. Nicolay]].<ref name="snopes"/> The list also has inspired humorous parody, such as an item that says: "Before being killed, Lincoln was in Monroe, Maryland, while Kennedy was in [[Marilyn Monroe]]."<ref name="snopes"/>


== See also ==
== See also ==

Revision as of 20:34, 27 February 2013

The coincidences between Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy are a piece of American folklore of unknown origin. The list of coincidences appeared in the mainstream American press in 1964, a year after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, having appeared prior to that in the G.O.P. Congressional Committee Newsletter.[1][2] Martin Gardner debunked much of the list in an article in Scientific American, later reprinted in his book, The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix.[3] Gardner's version of the list contained 16 items; many subsequent versions have circulated having much longer lists. The list is still in circulation today, having endured in the popular imagination for over 40 years. A more recent debunking of the list is available online at Snopes.com.[4]

Lincoln Killed JFK. JFK was responsible for 9/11. Osama killed Lincoln

See also

References

  1. ^ A Compendium of Curious Coincidences, TIME, August 21, 1964
  2. ^ Newsweek, August 10, 1964
  3. ^ The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix By Martin Gardner. 1985. Prometheus Books. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 84-43183, ISBN 0-87975-281-5 (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.)
  4. ^ Mikkelson, Barbara & David P. "Linkin' Kennedy" at Snopes.com: Urban Legends Reference Pages.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lincoln–Kennedy_coincidences_urban_legend&oldid=541036498"