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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

W.J. Ferguson, actor, dies; saw Lincoln shot

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05603.03.02 Author/Creator: Place Written: s.l. Type: Newspaper clipping Date: 1865/04/14 Pagination: 1 clipping Height: 27 cm, Width: 6 cm Order a Copy

Newspaper clipping announcing the death of W.J. Ferguson, the last living actor to have witnessed the assasination of President Lincoln. Ferguson played the part of Lietenant Vernon in "Our American Cousin." The actor and Laura Keene were in the wings when Booth shot the president. Ferguson always insisted that Booth never shouted "sic semper tyrannis!"

Booth, John Wilkes, 1838-1865
Keene, Laura, 1826-1873
Ferguson, W. J. (William J.), fl. 1865
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

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