The assassin’s bullet that fatally wounded Abraham Lincoln as he sat in this chair at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., assured this Victorian rocking chair a tragic role in American history. It was the kind of chair a middle-class Victorian might choose for a parlor during the 1860s--a chair built for anyone, not one designed especially for a president. Yet, this unassuming chair, brought into the private theater box for Lincoln’s use that night, became a poignant symbol of Lincoln’s ultimate sacrifice for his nation. ID.29.1451.1

This rocking chair is currently on display in the exhibit, With Liberty and Justice for All, in Henry Ford Museum.

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