Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth on the night of April 14, 1865, while attending the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Booth timed the shot to coincide with a particularly loud moment of laughter in the play around 10:15 PM, hoping the noise would mask the sound of the gunshot. Lincoln was shot in the back of the head during this performance and died the next morning from his wounds.