Changes

==Early history==

==Early history==

Booth was born May 10, 1838 near Bel Air, Maryland, the ninth of ten children born to famed actor Junius Brutus Booth and Mary Ann Holmes; his brothers Junius Jr. and Edwin were also actors, with Edwin on the way to becoming the finest actor on the American stage.  John Wilkes attended several private schools - including an Episcopal military academy in Catonsville, Maryland known as St. Timothy's Hall - but he got into acting after his father's death in 1852.  He made his stage debut as the Earl of Richmond in Shakespeare's ''Richard III'' in August, 1855, when he was just 17.  In 1858 he joined the Richmond (Virginia) Theater and became enchanted with the South and their way of life (the remainder of his family considered themselves Northerners).  At 5'8", with jet-black hair, ivory skin, and an athletic build, he was considered the "handsomest man in America" by many newspaper writers.  He was also among the first American actors to have a fan base with women; many ''cartes de visits'' - akin to studio photographs or sports cards today - were made and distributed by him or the theaters which presented his appearances (TL 26, pp. 34, 60).

Booth was born May 10, 1838 near Bel Air, Maryland, the ninth of ten children born to famed actor Junius Brutus Booth and Mary Ann Holmes.  He was named after a distant relative [[John Wilkes]], a radical politician in the British Parliament.  His brothers Junius Jr. and Edwin were also actors, with Edwin on the way to becoming the finest actor on the American stage.  John Wilkes Booth attended several private schools - including an Episcopal military academy in Catonsville, Maryland known as St. Timothy's Hall - but he got into acting after his father's death in 1852.  He made his stage debut as the Earl of Richmond in Shakespeare's ''Richard III'' in August, 1855, when he was just 17.  In 1858 he joined the Richmond (Virginia) Theater and became enchanted with the South and their way of life (the remainder of his family considered themselves Northerners).  At 5'8", with jet-black hair, ivory skin, and an athletic build, he was considered the "handsomest man in America" by many newspaper writers.  He was also among the first American actors to have a fan base with women; many ''cartes de visits'' - akin to studio photographs or sports cards today - were made and distributed by him or the theaters which presented his appearances (TL 26, pp. 34, 60).

By 1860 he was earning over $20,000 a year, starring in Shakespearian plays such as ''Romeo and Juliet'', ''The Merchant of Venice'', ''Julius Caesar'', ''Othello'', ''The Taming of the Shrew'', ''Hamlet'', and ''Macbeth''.

By 1860 he was earning over $20,000 a year, starring in Shakespearian plays such as ''Romeo and Juliet'', ''The Merchant of Venice'', ''Julius Caesar'', ''Othello'', ''The Taming of the Shrew'', ''Hamlet'', and ''Macbeth''.

==Plans against Lincoln==

==Plans against Lincoln==

[[File:BoothBenefit.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The Booth brothers (''l-r'': John Wilkes, Edwin, Junius Jr.) used their name and talent to raise funds for the construction of a statue to William Shakespeare in New York City on November 25, 1864, when they appeared together in the play ''Julius Caesar'']]

[[File:BoothBenefit.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The Booth brothers (''l-r'': John Wilkes Booth, Edwin, Junius Jr.) used their name and talent to raise funds for the construction of a statue to William Shakespeare in New York City on November 25, 1864, when they appeared together in the play ''Julius Caesar'']]

[[Image:Fords-Theater.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Ford's Theater; the black crepe went up almost immediately after Lincoln's death.]]

[[Image:Fords-Theater.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Ford's Theater; the black crepe went up almost immediately after Lincoln's death.]]

Several times the Lincolns had viewed the performance of Booth, including the play ''The Marble Heart'' on November 9, 1863 at Ford's Theater.  Mary B. Clay, a daughter to an American diplomat to Russia, saw this performance as well, and reflected that not all was well with Booth; indeed, she thought Booth meant to do the president harm:  

Several times the Lincolns had viewed the performance of Booth, including the play ''The Marble Heart'' on November 9, 1863 at Ford's Theater.  Mary B. Clay, a daughter to an American diplomat to Russia, saw this performance as well, and reflected that not all was well with Booth; indeed, she thought Booth meant to do the president harm: