The Curse Of Robert Todd Lincoln

As the son of one of the greatest presidents in American history, Robert Todd Lincoln should have lived a happy life, but like the rest of the Lincoln family, it was marred by tragedy and untimely death. Born in Springfield, Illinois, on August 1, 1843, he was one of four sons but the only one to make it to adulthood. As a result of his loss, his mother, Mary Todd Lincoln, suffered a great deal of mental distress and had to be institutionalized for part of her life.

But of course, the Lincoln family's most famous tragedy is that of their father Abraham Lincoln, who was shot in the head at the Ford Theater on a night just five days after the end of the Civil War. Actor and assassin John Wilkes Booth. However, the president did not die on the spot and was taken to the Peterson boarding house when it was determined that he was in too critical a condition to travel. Naturally, Robert rushed to her side. Sadly, nothing could be done to save him, and Lincoln died the next morning on April 15, 1865, before his wife and son. While it was certainly the most personally affecting, Robert Todd Lincoln witnessed two other presidential assassinations.

It was widely reported that President Garfield was going on a much-needed holiday on July 2, 1881, so Lincoln, now Secretary of War, was on the train platform to greet him. As they were walking towards each other, there were two loud bangs and Garfield fell to the ground. He was shot twice in the back at point-blank range by Charles Guito, who was upset about not getting a job of his choice. Lincoln arrived "in about 15 seconds" to Garfield and ordered to retrieve the President's personal physician as well as armed enforcement, but once again, the doctors could not save him. Garfield died months later on September 19, 1881.

Vacationing proved to be a deadly pastime of the President. Once again, Lincoln stepped off the train in Buffalo, New York on September 6, 1901, to shoot another President, William McKinley, who was shot twice in the chest by Polish anarchist Leon Kozolgoz. At least from Lincoln's point of view, the event was thankfully less bloody, as he had not witnessed the actual event, but had only remembered it. He immediately went to the home where McKinley was being treated and was relieved to find him not only alive but conscious, but McKinley's wound soon became infected, leading to his death. Robert Todd Lincoln entered his later years believing himself to be cursed and never sought office, despite much insistence from many fellow Republicans at the time.