Commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination

On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, our nation's 16th president, was assassinated at Ford's Theatre. Throughout 2015, various events throughout Washington will mark the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's assassination and death. Many of these events (courtesy of about travel) will be held at Ford's Theatre, located in downtown DC.

The Widow Lincoln
January 23-February 22, 2015. Ford’s Theatre. Set during the weeks following Abraham Lincoln’s murder at Ford’s Theatre, the world premiere drama  portrays Mary in the aftermath of her husband’s death as she mourns the post-war life they will never share. A post-performance discussion will be held on February 3. Theater tickets should be purchased in advance through Ticketmaster.com.

Through Lincoln's Words: Target Oratory Residency and Festival
February 10-11, 2015, 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Ford’s Theatre. More than 375 local elementary and middle school students will perform a selection of President Abraham Lincoln’s speeches. This year’s program features students who have benefitted from the integration of historical speeches and letters into History and English classes to help strengthen their understanding of history and improve their public-speaking skills. Tickets will be available on a first-come basis on the day of event.

President Lincoln Is Dead: The New York Herald Reports the Assassination
February 13, 2015. The Newseum, 6th and Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington DC, opens an exhibit featuring an unparalleled collection of all seven editions issued by the Herald on April 15, 1865, chronicling the shooting of Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, his death, the hunt for his assassin and the swearing-in of the new president.

Second Inaugural Address Panel Discussion
Civil War to Civil Rights: The Last Great Speeches of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr.
March 4, 2015, 7:30 p.m. Washington National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC. Moderated by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, the panel discussion focuses on Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. This event explores how the powerful words of these men and their final great speeches recognized the polarizing divisions of our nation and called for a unified American identity. Free tickets will be available beginning January 26, 2015.

Second Inaugural Address Commemoration Ceremony 
March 7, 2015. Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC. Enjoy Civil War music, a recreation of Lincoln taking the oath of office and reciting his Second Inaugural Address, learn more about the meaning of the address itself and how its meanings connected the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement. Free event, no tickets required.

Freedom’s Song: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War
March 13-May 20, 2015. Ford’s Theatre. This epic musical features the words of Abraham Lincoln and music inspired by the letters of those who lived through the Civil War. With rousing music, stirring speeches and rich, historic costumes Freedom’s Song evokes the soaring hopes and tragic losses of the real people of Civil War America. Lincoln’s inspirational words intermix with these stories, imagining a bloody nation once again unified and the return of a truly United States.

Abraham Lincoln Institute Symposium
March 21, 2015. Ford’s Theatre. Noted authors and historians Terry Alford, Richard Wightman Fox, Stephen A. Goldman, Martha Hodes and Jonathan W. White will discuss aspects of our 16th president’s leadership, his vision for Reconstruction and the effect his assassination had on American society. See the full schedule. Tickets will be available on the day of the event on a first-come, first-served basis.

History on Foot Walking Tours
March-October 2015. Join Detective James McDevitt for a first-hand look at the investigation into the Lincoln Assassination Conspiracy and the events of April 14 and 15, 1865. Led by an actor in costume, the outdoor walking tour lasts approximately two hours and makes at least eight stops in downtown Washington related to Lincoln, the assassination and the Civil War. See more information about History on Foot Walking Tours.

One Destiny
March-May 2015. Ford’s Theatre. The 35-minute play explores the key facts of the assassination while capturing the emotions of that fateful night. Tickets are $7.50 in advance or $5.00 the day of the performance. Tickets can be reserved throughTicketmaster.com.

Silent Witnesses: Artifacts of the Lincoln Assassination
March 23-May 25, 2015. Center for Education and Leadership, 514 Tenth Street NW, Washington, DC. This special exhibition will commemorate the assassination and death of Abraham Lincoln by reuniting—for the first time since April 1865—an extraordinary collection of artifacts that were in Ford’s Theatre or carried by Lincoln the night of the assassination.

The Road from Appomattox
April 9, 2015, 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Ford’s Theatre. A dramatic imagining of the meeting between Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant on the day after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, The Road From Appomattox explores how two great and very different generals ended the war with mercy and the best interests of the country in mind. For more information, visit www.fords.org/event/road-appomattox.

The Lincoln Tribute – Two Day Commemoration of the 150th Anniversary 
April 14-15, 2015, Ford’s Theatre Campus, 10 Street NW Washington DC. During the day, visitors can explore the Ford's Theatre Museum, hear a ranger talk, watch a performance of the one-act play One Destiny, take a self-guided tour in the Theatre, or visit the Petersen House and exhibitions at the Center for Education and Leadership. Outdoor History on Foot walking tours led by costumed actors and guided tours of Ford’s Theatre also will be offered. On the street outside, throughout the day and night, actors will share first-person accounts about the end of the Civil War, the experience of being inside the theatre at the moment of the assassination, medical reports from the Petersen House, and the impact of Lincoln’s life and death. On the evening of April 14, Ford’s Theatre will host Civil War living historians on 10th Street to recreate the all-night vigil for Abraham Lincoln. The public will be able to visit the Ford’s Theatre campus throughout the night. The morning of April 15, Ford’s Theatre Society and the National Park Service will mark Abraham Lincoln’s death at 7:22 a.m. with a wreath-laying ceremony; church bells will toll across the city, just as they did in 1865. Tickets are required for entry to the Ford’s Theatre campus and available through Ticketmaster.com.

Now He Belongs to the Ages: A Lincoln Commemoration
April 14, 2015, 9:00 p.m. Ford’s Theatre. Live streamed online and at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard. Event to include readings of Lincoln’s words and stories, Civil War-era music, excerpts from Lincoln’s favorite theatre and operas, and more. The event seeks to remind us that we not only lost a president; we lost a man who treasured his family, his friends and his country with a love so strong it could hold the Union together. Tickets are limited.

National Park Service Commemorative Wreath Laying
April 15, 2015, 7:22 a.m. Petersen House (the house where Lincoln died) The National Park Service will lay a wreath at the Petersen House marking the moment when President Lincoln passed away 150 years ago. A short speaking program will be followed by a moment of silence and church bells tolling across the city, just as they did in 1865. Additional details will be announced in March 2015.

Free Lincoln Assassination Walking Tours
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. The one-mile free walking tour, given by DC by Foot, examines historical facts and explores many of the famous sites where Lincoln walked himself in Washington, DC. Learn about the assassination plot that changed the nation. Reservations are required. Visit www.freetoursbyfoot.com.