Q&A on the News
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
Q: I heard that Steven Spielberg went to great lengths to ensure “Lincoln” was authentic. But if my memory serves, I believe his son Tad died prior to Lincoln’s assassination. Yet in the movie, Tad was shown being distraught at the news of his father’s death. It was my understanding that only son Robert outlived Lincoln. What’s the story?
— Phyllis Rich Carpenter, Dallas
A: Of Abraham and Mary Lincoln's four sons, two were alive at the time of Lincoln's assassination on April 14, 1865. (Lincoln died the next day.) Robert Todd was 21 and serving in the U.S. Army, and Thomas, who went by Tad, had turned 12 on April 4. Two other sons — Edward Baker and William (Willie) — had died by the time of Lincoln's death. Edward was born in 1846 and is thought to have died of tuberculosis in 1850. Willie was born in 1850 and died in 1862, most likely of typhoid fever. Tad Lincoln was 18 years old when he died of tuberculosis in 1871. Robert served as secretary of war from 1881-85 and U.S. minister to England from 1889-93. He died at 82 in 1926.
Q: In an informational page about Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a question asks if the people mover train goes to Concourse F. It says yes, but I believe it does not. Will you clarify this?
— Robert Derro, Duluth
A: The Plane Train, the airport's automated people mover, goes to Concourse F, airport spokesman DeAllous Smith told Q&A on the News in an email. The Plane Train connects the domestic and international terminal buildings with the airport's seven concourses (T, A, B, C, D, E and F).
