President Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865, and on May 22 the Lincoln Monument Association was formed in Philadelphia. Chaired by Mayor Alexander Henry, the Association rapidly raised $22,000 to commission a monument for the city honoring the late president of the United States. A number of American sculptors were invited to submit a pair of models for the monument's sculpture—a standing figure of Lincoln; and a group featuring a standing Lincoln and an allegorical figure. Thomas Ball and Randolph Rogers were the only sculptors to submit models.