A British clairvoyant warned Abraham Lincoln that his life was in danger weeks before he was assassinated , a historian claims . It is thought Charles Colchester , a medium who was close to the first lady , told the president of the threat in the early months of 1865 . Lincoln was shot dead by actor John Wilkes Booth as he watched a play in a private box at Ford 's Theatre , Washington DC , on the night of April 14 that year . Assassinated : An illustration shows John Wilkes Booth shooting President Lincoln at Ford 's Theatre on April 14 , 1865 . Clairvoyant Charles Colchester had become close to first lady Mary Todd Lincoln , pictured centre . But while Colchester may have been passing on the information as a mystic warning , it is likely the information came directly from the assassin - who was also his drinking companion . Colchester 's relationship with the president has been well-document , but until now historians have not connected him with Booth , Professor Terry Alford writes in Fortune 's Fool , a new biography of the assassin , according to The Times . The medium became known to the Lincoln family after he was summoned by first lady Mary Todd Lincoln when she was looking to communicate with her dead 11-year-old son , Willie . Colchester , the illegitimate son of a duke , impressed Mrs Lincoln and was invited to hold a number of seances at the White House and the Soldiers ' Home , the president 's summer retreat . Warning : Abraham Lincoln , was told his life was in danger weeks before his death , it is claimed . But while he became important to the first lady , it appears he was unable to convince the president of his powers , writes Professor Terry Alford . On one occasion the president asked Joseph Henry , of the Smithsonian Institute , to investigate how Colchester was able to summon noises in different parts of a room - evidence , he claimed , of his ability to communicate with spirits . Mr Henry was forced to report that he was unable to find an explanation . ( It was later discovered Colchester had an electrical noise-maker strapped to his bicep ) . His close relationship to the first lady allowed Colchester to become part of the Washington social scene . It was there he met Booth and the two men became friends , writes Professor Alford . 'They would go out and get drunk together , ' he told The Times . In the weeks before the assassination , Booth was staying at the National Hotel - less than six blocks from Ford 's Theatre . Colchester visited him there often , writes Alford . In early 1865 Booth abandoned his plan to kidnap Lincoln and decided instead to assassinate him . He shared his plot with a number of trusted friends in Washington , but it is not clear whether Booth was one of them . What is known is that , in April 1865 - the month of the assassination - another friend urged the president to be mindful of his personal safety , Lincoln replied : 'Colchester has been telling me that ' . Colchester fled Washington after being confronted by a member of the president 's inner circle following a blackmail attempt on the first lady . He died in Iowa a few years later . Fortune 's Fool : The Life of John Wilkes Booth , will be published in Britain by Oxford University Press on May 28 .
Abraham Lincoln was shot dead in Washington DC theatre on a few years later . Clairvoyant Charles Colchester had warned him of threat , it is claimed . Colchester was close to Lincoln family and also friend of assassin Booth . But the British medium had failed to convince president of his powers . Revelations made in new biography on Booth by historian Dr Terry Alford .