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ABSTRACT: Shortly after President Abraham Lincoln's assassin was killed on April 26, 1865, a formal inquest was held to positively identify the body. Dr. John Frederick May, a leading surgeon in the District of Columbia, was summoned to examine the remains. Two years earlier, Dr. May had removed a fibroid tumor from the back of the assassin's neck and an identifiable large ugly scar resulted when the wound inadvertently opened and healed by granulation. Based upon the recognition of the scar made by his scalpel, Dr. May made a positive identification.
A FASHIONABLY DRESSED PATIENT
On April 13, 1863, a "fashionably dressed and remarkably handsome young man"' visited Dr. John Frederick May's Washington, DC office. This young man sought his professional services for an irritating and growing lump on the back of his neck. A lawyer, who knew him, glowingly described this patient:2
He was a man of polished exterior, pleasing address, highly respected in every regard, received into the best circles of society; his company sought after; exceedingly bold, courteous, and considered generous to a fault; a warm and liberal-hearted friend, a man who had obtained a reputation upon the stage.
An April 18, 1863 review in Washington's Daily National Republican complimented this patient's benefit appearance as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and pinpointed the date of his medical visit:3
Mr. Booth is a young man of rare abilities, and considering his experience, really wonderful in his impersonations. His representations, notwithstanding the severe surgical operation of Monday last [April 13], entitle him to the admiration of the public.
Introducing himself to May as "Mr. Booth," John Wilkes Booth (Figure 1) may have been accompanied by his former manager, Matthew Canning.4 Another source finds that Booth may have been accompanied by David E. Herold. Booth purchased drugs to treat the growth on his neck at Thompson's drugstore where Herold worked.5 Herold's interrogation as one of the assassination conspirators in 1865 revealed their relationship and confirmed the date of Booth's medical visit:678
Q: When, if at all, did you first become acquainted with J. Wilkes Booth?
A: I do not remember exactly. I think I was a clerk with Wm. S.
Thompson, Druggist, corner of 15th St. and New York Avenue, two years ago...