The Man Who Cursed Three Presidents
Robert Todd Lincoln was connected to his father and two other President’s Assassinations
Robert Todd Lincoln is a man who had an illustrious career. However, it is not this that he is mainly known for but the myth that he was present at not one but three presidential assassinations.
Although this myth is not entirely accurate, it is clear that Robert was surrounded by death his whole life, partly due to the times he lived and partly due to his connection to many a prominent person.
The Lincoln Family
Robert Lincoln was the eldest son of President and Mrs Abraham Lincoln. Although he did not have a close relationship with his father, he was with him the day he died.
Robert lost two of his brothers as well as his father. One of his brothers, Edward, died as a boy in Springfield, Illinois, many years before his father became President.
A second brother would die in the White House on 20th February 1862. Tragedy would follow the family in later life when Robert watched his mother spiral into financial hardship and manic depression.
At one point, his mother became so depressed he had her transferred to an asylum. She died in 1882, aged sixty-three.
