Edwin Booth was loved and respected by all.  An American icon...almost completely forgotten by history. As of April 15, 1865, when someone hears the name Booth, only one thing comes to mind: the man who shot and killed Abraham Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth, also an actor and younger brother to Edwin, assassinated the president of the United States. 

That one tragic shot, that single action by the younger Booth, immediately and forever consumed and obliterated the narrative of one of the greatest acting families in American history. 

Edwin and John's relationship was one fueled by rivalry and an over eagerness to obtain praise and approval under the shadow of their iconic father. Edwin quickly and clearly established himself as the better actor, touring with his father around the country. When their father died suddenly of disentary, in 1842, 19 yr old Edwin aggressively filled the shoes of his father and quickly outgrew them. Edwin's pride and ego gave him a thirst for fame. This continued to cause tension and rivalry with his younger brother. Edwin often refused to share the stage with John and went so far as to draw a line in the country (basically the Mason-Dixon) and prevented John from performing on his side of it, claiming there wasn't enough room for two Booths. John was forced to seek work in the south where the theaters were far and few between, with small pay and smaller audiences. 

This rivalry never died. John spent a lifetime trying to upstage his brother, unsuccessfully. That is until that night, in the Presidential box at the Fords Theatre, during a performance of Our American Cousin, where John would finally and permanently upstage Edwin forever.