Edwin Booth's grave, located in Cambridge. Massachusetts.

The gravesite of Edwin Booth, renowned Shakespearian actor and brother of John Wilkes Booth, is a rare and unique glimpse into the past.

It was a cool autumn day in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As fall leaves collected on the ground and sunlight shined on the walkways, Mount Auburn Cemetery was both peaceful and intriguing. Though each grave tells a story, at the top of a small hillside amidst a cluster of pines, there is a large gravestone that stands apart from the rest. The stone is eye catching in itself, complete with a bright green plaque on the front that is engraved with a man's face--but the name sparks even deeper interest. It's a name all too infamous to history: Booth. Only this isn't John Wilkes--this is his brother, Edwin.

Born into a theatrical family in Maryland on November 13, 1833, Edwin Booth seemed destined for the stage. Booth's father, Junius Brutus Booth, was widely considered to be one of the most popular actors of his day--but privately he was also a struggling alcoholic who was often plagued by erratic behavior. To monitor Junius's habits and keep him from drinking, Edwin began traveling across the country on acting engagements with his father as a young teenager.

When Junius Brutus Booth died in November 1852, the world lost one of its greatest tragedians, but Edwin quickly followed in his father's footsteps. Considered by many to be an even greater actor than his late father, Edwin mastered many of Shakespeare's most famous roles, particularly the role of Shakespeare's "Hamlet"-- in which he was considered unmatched. Though Edwin mimicked many of his father's celebrated acting abilities, he also fell into many of his father's less impressive habits, such as excessive drinking and melancholy.

Although Edwin was five years older than his brother, John Wilkes Booth, and had a significant head start in his acting career, John Wilkes Booth broke into the acting business in 1857 and quickly rose to international fame, sparking debate among many historians that a secret rivalry existed between the two brothers. While these theories are impossible to substantiate, however, a well known feud did exist between the two brothers, only it wasn't over acting--but politics. Edwin Booth was a staunch supporter of the North during the American Civil War, and he even voted for Abraham Lincoln in the presidential election of 1864. John Wilkes Booth, on the other hand, fiercely supported the South and developed an intense hatred for President Lincoln that ultimately culminated in assassination.

While the Booth brothers each had busy acting schedules, they did manage to bring their talents together for a special benefit performance of "Julius Caesar" at the Winter Garden Theater in New York City on November 25, 1864. This would be the first and only time the Booth brothers would all perform together. The oldest of the Booth brothers, Junius Jr. (who was also an actor) played Julius Caesar, Edwin portrayed Brutus, and John Wilkes played the part of Marc Anthony. This performance occurred just five months prior to Lincoln's murder.

After John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865, Edwin never spoke his brother's name again.

Although Edwin's acting career was temporarily halted in the aftermath of Lincoln's murder, audiences across the country eventually welcomed him back to the stage.

Edwin died in New York City on June 7, 1893, at the age of 59. Today, he is buried beneath the tall gravestone amidst the cluster of pines at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, alongside his first wife and only daughter, Edwina.

Two days after Edwin Booth's death, on June 9, 1893, a terrible tragedy struck at Ford's Theatre (which had been converted into a government office building after Lincoln's assassination) when the front part of the theatre collapsed from the third floor and killed 22 people. Ironically, this was the same day as Edwin Booth's funeral. An eerie coincidence? Indeed, history leaves us with much to speculate.