Henry Rathbone | |
|---|---|
 1865 Mathew Brady photograph of Rathbone | |
| Birth name | Henry Reed Rathbone |
| Born | July 1, 1837 Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 14, 1911 (aged 74) Hildesheim, Prussia, Germany |
| Buried | Stadtfriedhof Engesohde (disinterred in 1952) |
| Allegiance |  United States (Union) |
| Service |  U.S. Army (Union Army) |
| Years of service | 1861–1870 |
| Rank |  Brevet colonel |
| Unit | 12th U.S. Infantry |
| Battles / wars | American Civil War |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | Henry Riggs Rathbone Gerald Lawrence Rathbone Clara Pauline Rathbone |
| Relations | Ira Harris (stepfather and father-in-law) |
| Other work | Attorney |
Henry Reed Rathbone (July 1, 1837 – August 14, 1911) was a United States military officer and lawyer who was present at the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln; Rathbone and his fiancé Clara Harris were sitting with Lincoln and Lincoln's wife Mary Todd Lincoln when the president was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre. When Rathbone attempted to apprehend Booth, Booth stabbed and seriously wounded him. Rathbone may have played a part in Booth's leg injury. Although he recovered, Rathbone's mental state deteriorated afterwards, and in 1883, he killed his wife, Clara, in a fit of madness, later being declared insane by doctors and living the rest of his life in a lunatic asylum.