By David J. Kent Washington, D.C. Monday, December 1, 2025 Ronald Rietveld passed away  on November 27, 2025, at the age of 88. Rietveld was a professor of history at California State University–Fullerton for many years, although he is best known for his discovery at the age of 14 of the only known photograph of Abraham Lincoln in his coffin, taken April 24, 1865, as he lay in repose in New York during the long train ride back to Springfield. Rietveld's discovery shocked hist

By David J. Kent Washington D.C. Friday, April 23, 2021 Early on the morning of August 12, 1864, poet Walt Whitman watches from his...

By David J. Kent Washington D.C. Thursday, April 15, 2021 The mood in Washington was euphoric. After four long years the war was nearly...

By David J. Kent Washington D.C. Wednesday, April 14, 2021 April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln’s last day alive, was a busy one. Included was...