Wednesday 20 June 2012

Lincoln's Assassination: Doctor's Notes found

At Ford's Theatre, on April 14 1865, President Lincoln was assassinated by the actor John Wilkes Booth. Shooting him in the back of the head, Booth jumped down from the President's box, (landing badly) and fled the theatre, with a dagger in his hand. Dr Charles Leale was the first doctor on the scene, and his notes regarding Lincoln's death have been found by a British student in the National Archives.

Initially Leale believed the President had been stabbed, but then found the "large clot of blood" at the back of his head. "His breathing became more regular" once he had removed the clot, and Leale continued his desperate attempts to save Lincoln's life in a house across the street. Leale gave a detailed account of his experience, which was found among the papers of the surgeon-general. Studies will be conducted as to whether the President could have survived.

Why can't I find something like that?!

(BBC)

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