Operation Assassination: Lincolnisms vs. Kennedyms - Part I

We're celebrating Operation Assassination, a trivia-laden white paper I compiled 25 years ago that indirectly spawned this blog. In 2000, I combined my original paper with material I found online that I published on a GeoCities account. As part of this retrospect, I decided to revisit what I found and republish the information.

The Presidents

1. Both were male.

Ed. Note — Let us not be silly.

2. Both are generally remembered in association with state capitals, not their birthplaces:
1. Springfield, IL, but born in Hogenville, KY
2. Boston, but born in Brookline, MA
3. Both have seven letters in their last name
4. Both were named after their grandfathers
1. Abraham Flowers Lincoln (1744-86)
2. John Francis Fitzgerald (1863-1950)
5. Both were second-born children
1. Sarah Lincoln Grigsby (1807–28)
2. Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. (1915-44)
6. Both lost a sister to death before being elected President
1. Kathleen Agnes Kennedy (1920-48)
2. Sarah Lincoln Grigsby (1807–28)
7. Both were over 6 feet tall
8. Both were athletic
9. Both were known for having a quick wit
10. Both like to quote the Bible and Shakespeare
11. Both were well-written and well spoken
1. Many of Lincoln's works are considered classics of American writing.
2. Kennedy won the Pulitzer Prize
12. The each gave speeches still quoted from today
1. Gettysburg Address
2. Inaugural address ("Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country")
13. Both served in the military
1. Lincoln was a scout captain during the Black Hawk War
2. Kennedy was a lieutenant in the Navy during World War II
14. Both were boat captains
1. Lincoln was the skipper of the Talisman, a Mississippi riverboat
2. Kennedy was the skipper of PT109 during World War II
15. Both seemed to have lazy eye muscles, sometimes causing one eye to "drift."
16. Both apparently suffered from genetic diseases
1. It is suspected that Lincoln had Marfan's disease
2. Kennedy had Addison's disease
17. Both enjoyed sitting in rocking chairs
18. Neither president was known to carry money and often borrowed money from friends
19. Both had no fear or pretense of their mortality and disdained bodyguards
20. Both often stated how easily it would be to shoot a president
21. Both received many letters threatening their lives
1. In the year of his death, Lincoln received over 80 letters
2. In the year of his death, Kennedy received over 800 letters
22. Both were left unprotected from their assassins
1. Lincoln's bodyguard had left at intermission to go to a saloon, giving Booth unobstructed access to the box
2. The bullet-proof bubble top was left off of Kennedy's car, giving Oswald a clear shot.
23. The first public proposal that Lincoln be the Republican presidential candidate was in a letter to the Cincinnati Gazette on Nov. 6, 1858. The letter also endorsed John P. Kennedy (1795–1870) for Vice President, a former Secretary of the Navy.
24. A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe, Maryland. A week before Kennedy was shot, he was in Marilyn, Monroe.

Ed. Note — I said, let us not be silly.

Whatever my sources were are long gone, but I've added a few links to Wikipedia so you can "read more about it."