Lincoln and Kennedy list of spooky coincidences. Real or fake?
A series of apparent coincidences between the lives and deaths of presidents John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln are spreading across the Internet and on social media.
The list of coincidences lists many similarities in how both presidents apparently lived and died, including their respective assassinations.
The list has actually been spreading in one form or another for many decades, shortly after Kennedy was killed back in 1963. Occasionally extra information gets added to the list or other items are taken from it. Most variants of this chain message contain true, false and embellished information.
A typical version of it is below.
Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846. John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946. Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960. The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters. Both were particularly concerned with civil rights. Both wives lost their children while living in the White House. Both Presidents were shot on a Friday. Both were shot in the head. Lincoln's secretary, Kennedy, warned him not to go to the theatre. Kennedy's secretary, Lincoln, warned him not to go to Dallas. Both were assassinated by Southerners. Both were succeeded by Southerners. Both successors were named Johnson. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808. Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908. John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839. Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939. Both assassins were known by their three names. Both names are comprised of fifteen letters Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse. Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater. Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.
We take a look at each item of the list, point by point.
Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.
Determination: TRUE.
Both Kennedy and Lincoln were elected to Congress 100 years apart.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.
Determination: TRUE… but…
It is not exactly too much of a coincidence that two men who both began their political careers 100 years apart would go on to be president 100 years apart too, especially considering that presidential elections happen every 4 years, meaning neither man could have been elected president in the 3 years preceding or succeeding the year they did become president.
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The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters.
Determination: TRUE
Yes, both names have seven letters in them. However again that is hardly a coincidence. Johnson (x2), Harding, Madison, Jackson are the names of other presidents with 7 letters in their surname and 6.64 is the average length of a presidential surname.
Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Determination: Misleading
Civil rights were issues at the forefront of the American political landscape at the time both men were president, meaning these were issues that would help define each man’s respective presidencies. It would be misleading to suggest that either man had any significant personal interest in civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.
Determination: True
Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Determination: True.
Though the odds of this happening are only 1 in 7.
Both were shot in the head.
Determination: True but misleading
While both presidents were shot in the head, their injuries and assassinations were wildly different. Kennedy was struck by more than one bullet, also being injured in the back and neck with bullets from a distant sniper. Lincoln was shot only once in the head at point blank range.
Lincoln’s secretary, Kennedy, warned him not to go to the theatre.
Kennedy’s secretary, Lincoln, warned him not to go to Dallas.
Determination: False
Kennedy’s secretary was called Lincoln, but there is nothing to prove she warned Kennedy about going to Dallas. Lincoln did not have a secretary called Kennedy.
Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners.
Determination: Misleading
Lincoln’s murderer was born in Maryland and spent most of his life in the North. Kennedy’s killer was born in New Orleans and lived in many different areas across the United States including New York.
Both successors were from the South. Again though, hardly a coincidence.
Both successors were named Johnson.
Determination: True
Arguably the most impressive “coincidence”, both successors were called Johnson. Andrew Johnson and Lyndon B. Johnson respectively in time. With that said, Johnson was a popular surname in both Lincoln’s and Kennedy’s times.
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Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.
Determination: True
Again though, since they took office 100 years apart, it is not outside the realms of improbability that they would have also been born 100 year apart.
John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939.
Determination: False
John Wilkes Booth was born in 1838.
Both assassins were known by their three names.
Determination: Misleading
We generally refer to Kennedy’s killer as Lee Harvey Oswald. However he rarely used his full name pre-assassination, preferring just Lee Oswald. It was post-assassination that the press commonly referred to him by his whole name.
Both names are comprised of fifteen letters
Determination: True
True, but rather trivial.
Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse.
Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater.
Determination: Misleading
This is essentially just a play on common names. For example, Lincoln was killed in a live show theater which were popular during his era, while Oswald ran into a movie theater, a completely different type of building.
Also, Oswald killed Kennedy from a book depository warehouse, whilst Booth went on the run and ended up at a tobacco barn.
Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.
Determination: True… but…
Again the differences in their deaths far outweigh the similarities. Oswald was arrested and was killed by Jack Ruby, a man who shot him with a pistol as he was being transported by police. Booth on the other hand was tracked to the tobacco barn which was set ablaze and he was shot when he reportedly raised his pistol at federal agents.
Summary:
There are indeed a number of apparent similarities between the deaths and lives of both Kennedy and Lincoln – especially if you have an affinity to the largely arbitrary number of 100 – but it can be argued that these similarities have simply been cherry picked and embellished by those wishing to promote the idea of a “spooky” list of coincidences that in reality you could achieve for the lives and deaths of any number of pairs of people.
If we wished to dig further, we could probably find even more similarities, but these will always be greatly outweighed by the number of “non-coincidences” that fail to impress and thus are likely to be dismissed and omitted.
The list contains many genuine similarities, plenty of embellished ones and some false ones. When looked at critically, it is not nearly as impressive as you would maybe initially believe.