Henry Clay Ford

Henry Clay Ford assisted his brother John T. Ford in operating Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. during the 1860s.

In his brother's absence, Ford was placed in charge of the theatre. In April 1865, he hired Robert Knox, who was posing as the Irish author and playwright Oscar Wilde, to perform at the theatre. The Sixth Doctor realised the incongruity immediately since, as he told his companion Evelyn Smythe, Wilde was "still in short trousers" in 1865.

Ford's Theatre was the site of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on 14 April 1865 by John Wilkes Booth. The Doctor, Evelyn and Knox were all present that night. Both Fords had been acquainted with Booth as he was an actor and had performed in the theatre on several occasions. (AUDIO: Assassin in the Limelight)