Lincoln-Kennedy Coincidences: A Deep Dive into Enduring American Folklore

Joe Rogan recently brought renewed attention to the long-circulating parallels between the lives and deaths of U.S. Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, describing them as a "mindf*ck" and "history's freakiest parallel" in a tweet. The tweet, shared by Mario Nawfal and sourced from @joerogan, highlighted several popular claims, including their presidencies being "100 years apart," both championing civil rights, losing children, and being "shot in the head on Fridays." While these alleged coincidences have fascinated the public for decades, historical analysis largely classifies them as urban legends, a mix of selective truths, exaggerations, and outright falsehoods.

The list of Lincoln-Kennedy coincidences first gained widespread traction in the mainstream American press in 1964, shortly after Kennedy's assassination. Publications like Time magazine and the GOP Congressional Committee Newsletter disseminated these intriguing parallels, which quickly became a notable piece of American folklore. The enduring appeal of these lists often stems from a human tendency to seek patterns and meaning in tragic or chaotic events, a psychological phenomenon known as apophenia.

Many of the frequently cited parallels, while seemingly striking, are either partially true but misleading, or entirely inaccurate. For instance, both presidents were indeed elected to Congress in years ending in '46 (Lincoln in 1846, Kennedy in 1946) and to the presidency in years ending in '60 (Lincoln in 1860, Kennedy in 1960). Both were also shot on a Friday, and their successors were named Johnson (Andrew and Lyndon). However, these specific points are often presented without crucial context, such as the fact that presidential elections occur every four years, making a 100-year gap for elections less statistically improbable.

Other claims highlighted in the tweet, such as the assassins' birth years being 100 years apart, are factually incorrect; John Wilkes Booth was born in 1838, not 1839. The assertion that Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy and Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln who warned them is also false, though Kennedy did have a secretary named Evelyn Lincoln. Furthermore, the narrative that "Lincoln shot in theater, killer flees to warehouse" and "Kennedy shot from warehouse, killer flies to theater" is an oversimplification; Booth fled to a barn, not a warehouse, and Oswald was apprehended in a movie theater after shooting from a book depository.

Experts and fact-checking organizations like Snopes have extensively debunked the majority of these alleged connections, attributing them to chance, selective reporting, and the human desire for narrative coherence. While the coincidences remain a popular topic, their widespread acceptance as factual parallels has been consistently challenged by historical research. The fascination persists, but the consensus among historians is that these are largely products of folklore, not genuine mystical links.