NCJ Number
218786
Date Published
January 2001
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article describes the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) authentication of the Deringer pistol used by John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Abstract
The results indicated that the Booth Deringer pistol shown in the 1930s historical photograph was consistent with the Deringer firearm specimen under examination. Specifically, the fractured stock, patterned wood grain, and barrel defects of the specimen pistol led the FBI to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the Deringer pistol currently displayed at Ford’s Theater (the specimen pistol) was the same pistol photographed during the 1930s. The research was undertaken when the National Park Service requested in 1997 that the FBI clarify the authenticity of the Booth Deringer pistol displayed in Ford’s Theater, which is believed to be the same pistol used to assassinate President Lincoln. The Park Service provided the specimen pistol as well as a series of photographic and documentary evidence related to the pistol dating from the 1930s, 1950s, and 1960s. Technically descriptive information from this time span on the Booth Deringer was also obtained. The pistol was examined in terms of its size and caliber and photographic superimpositions were performed using the Deringer and the historical images of the pistol. The article also describes the background of the Lincoln assassination, the history and attributes of the Deringer pocket pistol, and the morphological characteristics of the Booth Deringer pistol. Figures, table, references