Lincoln–Kennedy coincidences urban legend

Abraham Lincoln		John F. Kennedy

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. Martin Gardner debunked much of the list in an article in Scientific American, later reprinted in his book, The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix. 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.

The list

An example of a shorter version 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. As Gardner and others have pointed out, however, it is relatively easy to find seemingly meaningful patterns relating any two people or events, but such patterns often do not stand up to rigorous scrutiny.

• Both presidents were elected to the presidency in '60.
• Both presidents were elected to the House of Representatives in '46.
• Both were runners-up for the party's nomination for vice-president in '56.
• Both their respective Vice Presidents/successors were Southern Democrats named Johnson born in '08.
• Both presidents were concerned with the problems of 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 Civil Rights, and the same year was the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
• Both presidents were shot in their heads.
• Both presidents were shot from behind.
• Both presidents were shot in presence of their wives.
• Both presidents were shot on a Friday.
• 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 at Ford's Theatre. Kennedy was shot in a Lincoln automobile, made by 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 John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald were killed before they could be put on trial.
• 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.
• John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald both have 15 letters in their names.
• Both assassins were born in the late '30s.
• Both assassins sympathized with anti-American organizations.
• Both assassins were killed within the calendar month before they could be tried.
• Both assassins were killed in states located immediately west of the states of their births.

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. The list has inspired humorous parody, such as an item that says: "Before being killed, Lincoln was in Monroe, Maryland, while Kennedy was in Marilyn Monroe."

See also

• Birthday problem
• Coincidence

External links

• "Linkin' Kennedy" article at Snopes.com