article_title name birth_date death_date
james o. hall
 james otis hall june 30 , 1912 february 26 , 2007
james o. hall

james otis hall -lrb- june 30 , 1912 -- february 26 , 2007 -rrb- was an amateur historian who specialized in the assassination of abraham lincoln .
he was widely regarded as one of the top experts on this matter , and is noted for having discovered a letter by john wilkes booth , written on the morning of the murder , in which booth attempted to justify his actions .
he also argued that samuel mudd was guilty of helping booth .
his books include `` come retribution '' by william a. tidwell , james o. hall and david w. gaddy ; `` on the way to garrett 's barn -- john wilkes booth & david e. herold in the northern neck of virginia , april 22 -- 26 , 1865 '' ; and `` the surratt family and john wilkes booth '' .
he served in the u.s. army as first lieutenant during world war ii , then worked for the department of labor .
he was widowed and living in mclean , va at his death .
the james o. hall research center at the surratt house museum is named for him .
