Mary Elizabeth Jenkins Surratt was an American boarding house owner who was convicted of taking part in the conspiracy to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. Sentenced to death, she was hanged, becoming the first woman executed by the United States federal government.

A sea of flowers in front of Buckingham Palace bear witness to Lady Diana's great popularity. (Credit: Jon Jones/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

A political illustration from 'Harper's Weekly' made during the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson referring to his defiance of the Constitution, 1868. (Credit: Kean Collection/Getty Images)

John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln assassination

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre, Washington, D.C. Engraving by Currier & Ives.

Lincoln Assassination

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HISTORY

1893

America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

Folklore is made up of age-old traditions, music, stories and superstitions that help define human culture. Discover the truth behind mysteries and legends, such as the Bermuda Triangle, zombies, werewolves, witches, vampires, Robin Hood and more.

Folklore

The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most divisive conflict, pitting the Union Army against the Confederate States of America. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 620,000 people, with millions more injured and the South left in ruins.

Civil War

1865

Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded vast control over politics and business.

Lincoln Assassination

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Mary Surratt

John Wilkes Booth

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

Stories

The Final Days of John Wilkes Booth

President Andrew Johnson Was Impeached for Firing a Cabinet Member

Which Famous Figure Had the Biggest Public Funeral?

The John Wilkes Booth Mummy That Toured America

This Day in History

23 die in collapse of Ford’s Theatre, site of Lincoln assassination

President Lincoln dies

Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train leaves D.C.

President Lincoln is buried in Springfield, Illinois

President Lincoln dreams about his assassination

Conspirators court-martialed for plotting to kill Lincoln, Grant and Andrew Johnson