Keeping Score of the Lincoln-Kennedy Coincidences

There have been many attempts over the years to explain away the coincidences below, almost to the point of contention by some writers. Those who go to such an extent are missing the point that most people do understand these are just coincidences, but nevertheless still find them interesting. We get that they’re just coincidence, and often the circumstances surrounding them were completely different.

When two people meet, for example, and find they share the same birthday, they certainly realize it is purely coincidence… but is there harm in marveling at such coincidence anyway?

The list below does contain some true coincidences between Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy. Are they unnatural or beyond mere coincidence? No. But do people still find them interesting? The longevity of the list is a resounding yes.

So without further adieu, we present the list of Lincoln-Kennedy coincidences, and our score of the accuracy of each one. We’ll assign a true, false, or mixed/misleading label to each and tally them up at the end. Keep in mind that the list has seen slight variations over the years, and we’ve tried to include the most popular ones being circulated today.

We’re not trying to explain why the following coincidences might exist or angrily insist that “Johnson” is a common name, for example. Most people realize that being born 100 years apart or having a common-named VP aren’t extraordinary coincidences. We also realize that the circumstances surrounding many of the coincidences are vastly different. Our goal here, however, is to merely keep score and let the reader decide if they find anything impressive or not.

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.
True

Lincoln failed to win the Vice Presidential nomination in 1856.
Kennedy failed to win the Vice Presidential nomination in 1956.
True

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.
True

Both were with their wives when they were assassinated.
True 

Lincoln defeated Stephen Douglas who was born in 1813.
Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon who was born in 1913.
True

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Mixed. 
Civil rights is an issue all presidents face, so it is debatable if these two presidents’ civil rights agendas were extraordinary.

Both wives lost children while in the White House.
True

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
True

Both Presidents were shot in the head.
True 

Lincoln’s secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy’s secretary was named Lincoln.
False.
There is no evidence that Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy.

Both were assassinated by Southerners.
False.
John Wilkes Booth was a Confederate spy and sympathizer, but he was from Maryland.

Both were succeeded by Southerners.
True

Both Presidents had Vice Presidents named Johnson.
True. 

Lincoln’s Vice President was called Andrew Johnson who served in the House of Representatives in 1847.
Kennedy’s Vice President was called Lyndon Johnson who served in the House of Representatives in 1947.
Misleading.
Johnson served in the House from 1843 through 1853. Johnson’s House tenure lasted from 1937-1949. There is no clear correlation between their dates of service nor their election to the House. They were both in the House in ’43 through ’49 if you want to be specific on the years they “overlapped” but even that is misleading.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.
True.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.
False
Booth was born in 1838.

Both assassins were known by the three names. Both names are composed of fifteen letters.
Mixed
Both assassins are now known by their three names, but neither was during his lifetime.  Both full names do contain 15 letters.

Lincoln was shot at the theater called “Ford.” Kennedy was shot in a car named “Lincoln”, made by Ford.
True

Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse.
Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater.
Mixed.
It’s a stretch to call the barn at which Booth was caught at “warehouse.”

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.
True
The use of the word “assassinated” is a stretch. “Killed” would have sufficed.

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe Maryland.
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe.
False
Marilyn Monroe died over a year before Kennedy’s assassination, and it’s unclear if a “Monroe, Maryland” has ever existed. This coincidence appears to be a later addition to the list above.

Final Score
True: 13
False: 5
Mixed or Misleading: 4

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Source: wafflesatnoon

Interesting Thoughts…………..