Uncanny coincidences between John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln

Have you ever heard of the strange coincidences that occurred between Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, both presidents of the United States?

Despite having lived more than a century apart, former presidents of the United States John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln have some truly bizarre coincidences in common.

In addition to having the same well-known job title and experiencing terrible and untimely deaths while in office, Lincoln and Kennedy also have some odd similarities.

Although it isn't all that unexpected considering their final function as President, both Lincoln and Kennedy served in Congress prior to becoming the Presidency. The two did experience significant Civil Rights issues while serving as president.

Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846, and Kennedy was elected in 1946. And in the years 1860 and 1960, the two men were each elected to the White House.

Both Presidents Kennedy and Lincoln lost a child while in office. In 1862, Willie Lincoln, age 11, died of typhoid disease, and in 1963, Patrick, the premature son of John F. Kennedy and Jackie, died at the age of two.

Assassinations Similarities

Even while the two horrific occurrences share the tragedy of being assassinated in public, there are some odd underlying similarities between them.

Both men were shot in the head: Kennedy from a distance while traveling in an open-air Dallas motorcade, and Lincoln at close range while watching a performance of "Our American Cousin".

Kennedy was traveling in the seventh vehicle in his motorcade, while Lincoln was sitting in box number seven of Ford's Theatre.

A guy with three names—Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wilkes Booth—killed both men on a Friday.

The aftermath

Both the assassins of Lincoln and Kennedy were assassinated before they could be brought to justice, despite the fact that they originally managed to flee the murder sites following the killings.

The two assassins, like Lincoln and Kennedy, had concurrent career trajectories since they were born 100 years apart, in 1839 and 1939, respectively.

Lincoln and Kennedy both had their vice presidents replace them, as is custom. However, Lyndon B. Johnson and Andrew Johnson had the same last name. The two successors were born in 1808 and 1908, respectively, one century apart from one another.

None of these coincidences stand out on their own as particularly compelling but taken as a whole, they create an odd web of similarities between the two presidents, who lived a century apart.