Kennedy-Lincoln Coincidences

Family

* Both were the second born child in their families.
* British ambassador
o Lincoln's son Robert was United States ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1889 to 1893.
o Kennedy's father Joseph was U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1938 to 1940.
* Both had four children.
o Lincoln: Robert, Edward, William "Willie", and Thomas "Tad"
o Kennedy: an unnamed still-born daughter (sometimes referred to as "Arabella"), Caroline, John Jr., Patrick
* Both, when newly born, were baptised by a Roman Catholic priest, however Lincoln never professed or practised Catholicism as a youth or adult.

Marriage

* Neither Lincoln nor Kennedy married until he was well over thirty years old. They each married a woman aged about 24, who was from a wealthy family who spoke French, and who died aged around 64.
o At age 33 Lincoln married Mary Todd in 1842. She was 23 years 326 days old. She died in 1882 at age 63 years 215 days.
o At age 36 Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953. She was 24 years 46 days old. She died in 1994, at age 64 years 295 days.


Family Tragedy

* Both had a sister to whom they were very close and who died young.
o Lincoln's sister, Sarah, died while giving birth in 1828 (age 20).
o Kennedy's sister, Kathleen, died in a plane crash in 1948 (age 28).
* Both Lincoln and Kennedy lost a child when they were President.
o Lincoln's 12 year old son Willie died in 1862.
o Kennedy's son Patrick died 2 days after his birth in 1963.
* Of their children, only one survived past age 40.
o Robert Todd Lincoln
o Caroline Bouvier Kennedy


Career

* Both studied law.
* Both served their country in war.
o Lincoln in The Black Hawk War
o Kennedy in World War II on the PT-109
* Elected to Congress a century apart
o Lincoln in 1846
o Kennedy in 1946
* Elected President a century apart
o Lincoln in the United States presidential election, 1860
o Kennedy in the United States presidential election, 1960
* Before becoming President, both Kennedy and Lincoln gained fame in a series of debates with better-known opponents.
o Lincoln debated Stephen A. Douglas
o Kennedy debated Richard Nixon
* Each President was involved in a monumental event in civil rights that took place a century apart.
o In 1863, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
o In 1963 there was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom during President Kennedy's term.
* Both presidents were succeeded by Southern Democrat men surnamed Johnson and born a century apart.
o Andrew Johnson, born 1808
o Lyndon Johnson, born 1908
* Their vice presidents' deaths were 98 years apart.
* Both wanted to switch running mates in their '64 re-election. Lincoln replaced Hannibal Hamlin with Andrew Johnson on the United States presidential election, 1864. Kennedy was rumored to have wanted to replace Lyndon Johnson with Terry Sanford in the United States presidential election, 1964.
* Both Johnsons either signed or vetoed a civil rights bill.
* Kennedy had a secretary by the name of Evelyn Lincoln. Lincoln is said to have had a secretary called David Kennedy; however, there is no record of his existence.
* Both were politicians from the Northern United States who were succeeded by Democratic politicians of the Southern United States. Lincoln was born in Kentucky but his Resident State was Illinois. Kennedy was born in Massachusetts which remained his Resident State. Andrew Johnson was born in North Carolina but his Resident State was Tennessee. Lyndon Johnson was born in Texas which remained his Resident State. Lincoln was assassinated by a Southern sympathizer, and some conspiracy theories claim that Kennedy was also.
* Both were the only Presidents to print and issue into circulation U.S. Government currency.

Assassination

* Both were assassinated with a gunshot to the head.
* Both were sitting next to their wives when they were shot.
* In each assassination, they were with another couple and the man of that couple was also wounded.
o Major Henry Rathbone, who was in the box with Lincoln, was slashed by Booth's knife.
o Governor John Connally, who was in the limousine with Kennedy, was also shot.
* John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in a theatre, was himself shot and captured in a tobacco shed, and died later — Lee Harvey Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse, was captured in the Texas Theater, and was himself shot later.
* Kennedy was travelling in a Ford Lincoln — Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theatre.
* Both were assassinated on a Friday preceding a holiday.
o Lincoln was shot on Good Friday, two days before Easter.
o Kennedy was shot on the Friday before Thanksgiving.
* Both men are supposed to have made prophetic statements on the days of their assassinations which were both 16 words long:
o Lincoln said: "If somebody wants to take my life, there is nothing I can do to prevent it."
o Kennedy supposedly said: "If somebody wants to shoot me from a window with a rifle, nobody can stop it," but there is no record of him actually saying this.


Assassin

* The assassins were born 101 years apart.
o Booth, May 10, 1838
o Oswald, October 18, 1939
* Each assassin came from a troubled family that lacked a father figure.
* Each assassin had an older brother whom they tried to emulate.
o Booth had a brother named Edwin Booth who was a much more acclaimed actor.
o Oswald had a brother named Robert whom he envied.
* The assassins were both shot before they could stand trial.
* Booth's earlier attempt at kidnapping President Lincoln failed - Oswald's earlier assassination attempt of Gen. Edwin Walker failed.


Names & Numbers

* Both Presidents have 7 letters in their last names.
o Abraham Lincoln
o John F. Kennedy
* Both Vice Presidents have 6 letters in their first names and the same last.
o Andrew Johnson
o Lyndon Johnson
* Both assassins, known by three names, have 15 letters in their names.
o John Wilkes Booth
o Lee Harvey Oswald


Skeptical

Some items are false, some inaccurate, and some misleading, for example:

* There is no record of a Lincoln secretary named Kennedy.
* Oswald was not known as "Lee Harvey Oswald" prior to the Kennedy assassination, simply as "Lee Oswald".
* The fact that Booth and Oswald were born 101 years apart is not an example of a coincidence. If they were born 100 years apart, that would qualify as a coincidence matching the fact that the presidents were elected, and shot, 100 years apart.

Although not actually a "skeptical" statement, there is no such thing as a Ford Lincoln, nor has there ever been a vehicle known as the Ford Lincoln. Lincoln is an automobile that is manufactured by the Lincoln-Mercury Division of the Ford Motor Company.

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 President Álvaro Obregón, while the other came up with similar lists for twenty-one pairs of US Presidents. [1]