[TW: mental health/death] Statistically, this was a bad place to be (1 Viewer)

Ahsoka · 12 September 2025

On the night of Lincoln’s assassination, there were 5 people in the presidents box at the theater. They were Lincoln, his wife, Major Rathbone (a Union general), his wife, and John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln of course got shot, as did John Wilkes Booth some time later. But the other 3 people also had bad endings. Mary Lincoln already struggled with mental health issues before that night, and this was exacerbated by the loss of 3/4 of her children (aged 4, 12, and 18), as well as being present at her husbands assassination. She ended up being sent to an asylum due to perceived erratic behavior by her son years later. As for Rathbone and his wife, he was injured trying to defend the president that night. The assassination and guilt of not being able to stop it caused his mental state to deteriorate. In the end, he went completely insane and attacked his own children. When his wife tried to protect them, he shot and killed her, then tried to commit suicide. After this event, he was sent to an asylum for the criminally insane for the rest of his life.

Tldr: everyone present in the presidents box on the night of Lincoln’s assassination ended up either getting shot or institutionalized to an asylum. Not a single happy ending, even to those who survived the assassination and manhunt that came after.