Anyone ever heard this story?

Question

A young actor is waiting in brooklyn for a train to Philidelphia. The train is nearly to the station, and the train platform is very crowded.
Near the front of the crowd, the actor notices a young college student playing dangerously close to the edge of the platform.

As the train nears, someone sudednyl pushes forward, and this causes the college student to fall off the edge and into the path of the oncoming train.

Everyone tries to reach for him but no one can save him.

With seconds left, the young actor rushes forward and with all his strength reaches down and grabs the student. He pulls him up onto the platform just as the train arrives.

Now so far this all means nothing but the two people (the actor and the college student) do.

The actor had a brother, who within 3 weeks would kill the father of the student.

The actor was James Booth. the college student was Willam Lincoln.

I have heard this is a true story. Has anyone ever heard this and anymore detail

Answer 1

It's a true story but you have the wrong Booth, the wrong Lincoln, the wrong time-frame and the wrong city.



John Wilkes Booth killed Pres. Lincoln. One of his two older brothers was named Edwin. (Edwin was a far more famous actor than his brother John, or his other brother Junius, the eldest)

Edwin saved the life of Robert Todd Lincoln in Jersey City, NJ. (Robert Lincoln being the only child of Abraham and Mary to have survived into adulthood.) Robert was going from New York to Washington D.C. and this would have happened in either 1863 or 1864.



Here is Robert's own account; "the incident occurred while a group of passengers were late at night purchasing their sleeping car places from the conductor who stood on the station platform at the entrance of the car. The platform was about the height of the car floor, and there was of course a narrow space between the platform and the car body. There was some crowding, and I happened to be pressed by it against the car body while waiting my turn. In this situation the train began to move, and by the motion I was twisted off my feet, and had dropped somewhat, with feet downward, into the open space, and was personally helpless, when my coat collar was vigorously seized and I was quickly pulled up and out to a secure footing on the platform. Upon turning to thank my rescuer I saw it was Edwin Booth, whose face was of course well known to me, and I expressed my gratitude to him, and in doing so, called him by name".

Answer 2

Fiction

William Licoln died in 1862, at the age of 12, three years before your story.





All I saw that was interesting is that he was named William Wallace Lincoln

Answer 3

cant catch a train in Brooklyn NY going directly to Philadelphia pa

Answer 4

I've heared that story several times before. I don't know if it's true but if not ti's really good told ;-)