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Rare Books acquires horoscope of Johnson’s impeachment

Zoom image: Based on his interpretation of the chart, astrologist Thomas Lister wrote in a letter to President Andrew Johnson that he believed it was his "professional duty" to write to the president directly and assure him that the planets show he would be acquitted during his impeachment trial. Image: Courtesy of University Archives Based on his interpretation of the chart, astrologist Thomas Lister wrote in a letter to President Andrew Johnson that he believed it was his "professional duty" to write to the president directly and assure him that the planets show he would be acquitted during his impeachment trial. Image: Courtesy of University Archives

Based on his interpretation of the chart, astrologist Thomas Lister wrote in a letter to President Andrew Johnson that he believed it was his "professional duty" to write to the president directly and assure him that the planets show he would be acquitted during his impeachment trial. Image: Courtesy of University Archives

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Published March 23, 2026

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Alison Fraser.
“The horoscope offers a unique perspective on U.S. history, joining the other materials in the Rare Books Collection that illuminate the past in surprising ways. ”
Alison Fraser, curator
Rare Books Collection

The Rare Books Collection has added an unusual document to its archive: a horoscope by Boston astrologer Thomas Lister to President Andrew Johnson during his impeachment trial.

Zoom image: A portion of the letter written by Thomas Lister to President Andrew Johnson that explained the horoscope. Image: Courtesy of University Archives A portion of the letter written by Thomas Lister to President Andrew Johnson that explained the horoscope. Image: Courtesy of University Archives

A portion of the letter written by Thomas Lister to President Andrew Johnson that explained the horoscope. Image: Courtesy of University Archives

Dated April 10, 1868, the letter includes a hand-drawn horoscope for 3 p.m. on March 30, 1868: the date and time that the impeachment trial began. Based on his interpretation of the chart, Lister wrote in the letter that he believed it was his "professional duty" to write the president directly and assure him that the planets show that he would be acquitted.

Thanks to the favorable position of the Sun on the Midheaven, together with Venus’ “good aspect to Jupiter,” Lister confidently predicted that Johnson would be exonerated.

Lister’s prediction proved to be correct, as the Senate acquitted Johnson six weeks later on May 26, 1868.

“The horoscope offers a unique perspective on U.S. history, joining the other materials in the Rare Books Collection that illuminate the past in surprising ways,” says Curator Alison Fraser.

During his lifetime, Thomas Lister was most famous for his uncanny prediction of Lincoln’s assassination in a letter that was published in the Boston Herald in September 1864, seven months before it happened. He warned: “A deep base plot will be formed against the person of the President, as shown by the planet Mars. It indicates death from pistol shot.”

The purchase of the horoscope was made possible by Carrie Tirado Bramen, professor of English and interim chair of the Edward H. Butler funds in the Department of English.