With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die. –President Lincoln

Words spoken by our 16th president, who met his tragic fate 144 years ago today while attending the comedy, Our American Cousin, at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. This day marks one of the most infamous days in American history, as we not only lost an influential political leader, but also a Civil War icon that catapulted the country into a new era.

Listed below are a few web sites detailing the events leading up to the assassination, details of the day, and a look at the aftermath.

Abraham Lincoln Papers
The Abraham Lincoln papers at the Library of Congress has a designated section on his assassination with essays that include an introduction, a detailed timeline, and a gallery of archived photographs and documents from Lincoln’s era. You can also find selected images from the prints and photographs division of the Library of Congress that thematically center on Lincoln’s Assassination.

Military History Podcast
Listen to the Lincoln’s Assassination podcast that talks about the preliminary events leading up to the assassination, the assassination itself, and the manhunt that ensued.

The Trial of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators
The aftermath of Lincoln’s assassination brought with it the widely discussed conspiracy theories and subsequent trials. This web site features a chronology, biographies of the conspirators, sketches of Ford’s Theatre, a diagram of the conspiracy trial courtroom, excerpts from the trial transcripts, newspaper clippings, and even a jeopardy game that allows you test your conspiracy trial knowledge.

Teaching Abraham Lincoln
EDSitement’s Spotlight on Abraham Lincoln presents a plethora of links to “lessons, student interactives, and multimedia-rich web sites that will help teachers, students, parents, and caregivers understand the world Lincoln lived in and the impact he had upon it.”

A Word Fitly Spoken
This interactive timeline of Lincoln’s most famous speeches can be found on the TeachingAmericanHistory.org web site, a project of the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University. See also this site’s links to other Lincoln resources.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.