Could Modern Medicine Have Saved Abraham Lincoln?

Date: April 14, 2009
Contact: Mindi Rambo, 212-668-2208

Could Modern Medicine Have Saved Abraham Lincoln?

New York, NY – For generations, scholars have debated numerous questions surrounding the shooting of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth, including:

• Could Lincoln have survived his gunshot wounds with modern medical care?
• Did Lincoln’s doctors do more to harm or help him?
• Why were there no guards at Ford’s Theatre?
• Was Booth really behind the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln?
• Did Booth actually escape after Lincoln’s assassination?

Dr. Blaine V. Houmes, M.D., an emergency physician and former medical examiner, will attempt to answer those questions when he gives a free lecture on “The Lincoln Assassination: Myths and Mysteries” Thursday, April 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Federal Hall National Memorial, 26 Wall Street.

Dr. Houmes’ published work has investigated the life of President Lincoln, his health and the medical aspects of his assassination.

The lecture is being held in conjunction with the special exhibition “Abraham Lincoln in New York: A Rail Splitter Bicentennial Celebration.” Visitors may come early to experience the exhibit, which features never-before-exhibited artifacts, documents and historical memorabilia telling the Lincoln story.

For more information on this and other programs associated with the exhibit, which is open to the public through June 30, visit www.lincolninnewyork.com.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “The Lincoln Assassination: Myths and Mysteries” -- A lecture by Dr. Blaine V. Houmes, M.D. WHEN: Thursday, April 16 at 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: Federal Hall National Memorial, 26 Wall Street

COST: Free

WEB: www.lincolninnewyork.com; www.nps.gov/feha

About Federal Hall National Monument: 26 Wall Street was the site of New York City's 18th-century City Hall. After the Revolution, the Continental Congress met at City Hall. Pierre L'Enfant was commissioned to remodel City Hall for the new federal government. The First Congress met in the new Federal Hall, and wrote the Bill of Rights, and George Washington was inaugurated here as President on April 30, 1789. When the capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790, the building again housed city government until 1812, at which time Federal Hall was demolished. The current structure on the site was built as the Customs House it later became the U. S. Sub-Treasury until that system was replaced by the Federal Reserve.

How to Get There: Federal Hall is located at 26 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. There are numerous ways to get there using public transportation. Please visit www.mta.info for more information and transportation maps.