Voting Station

John T. Ford

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Promoter

The Resume

    (April 16, 1829-March 14, 1894)
    Born in Baltimore, Maryland
    Owned Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC
    Also owned theaters in Alexandria, Virginia; Richmond; Baltimore; Philadelphia; and Charleston, South Carolina

Why he might be annoying:

    He is remembered less for any of his shows than for the fact that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre.
    His first success was writing for minstrel shows.
    He was friends with assassin John Wilkes Booth.
    After the assassination, Ford's Theatre was seized by the government and turned into a clerk's office for the War Department.
    Part of the building collapsed (June 9, 1893), killing 22 and leading to rumors that the former theater was cursed.

Why he might not be annoying:

    After the assassination, he and his brothers were imprisoned for 39 days before being released due to a lack of evidence linking them to the crime.
    Congress later authorized paying him $100,000 for Ford's Theatre.
    When 'H.M.S. Pinafore' became a craze in the US, he was the only American theater manager to pay Gilbert and Sullivan royalties.
    As a result, Gilbert and Sullivan entrusted him with their American business affairs.
    Ford's Theatre was restored and declared a National Historic Site (1970).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 19 Votes: 52.63% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 18 Votes: 72.22% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 21 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 28 Votes: 46.43% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 21 Votes: 66.67% Annoying