John Wilkes Booth

About John Wilkes Booth

John Wilkes Booth remains a singular figure in American history, ranked #584 in overall historical importance by MIT's Pantheon project. His indelible mark stems from the 1865 assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, a pivotal event that abruptly ended the Civil War era and profoundly altered the course of Reconstruction. Booth, an established stage actor before his extremist act, carried out the murder at Ford's Theatre, instantly cementing his place as one of the most infamous figures of the 19th century.

Despite this extreme historical significance, Booth currently experiences a clear online 'overattention' relative to his impact compared to many peers. He garners approximately 1.2 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025, resulting in an Attention Gap score of +3x, meaning his attention is three times higher than his historical ranking might suggest. For contrast, figures of significantly greater historical weight, such as Louis XV of France (#258 importance), attract only about 100K views, highlighting a notable skew in modern internet focus toward dramatic, singular acts over prolonged governance or foundational influence.

His online interest shows slight recent decline, with a year-over-year view change of -36.0%, though a small +4% momentum bump between Q1 and Q3 of 2025 suggests fluctuations in contemporary interest or historical anniversaries may still momentarily draw the digital eye.