Did you know Abraham Lincoln grew his famous beard because of a letter he received from an eleven year old girl and that he is the only US President to wear a beard! A lot of other interesting facts about Abraham Lincoln are given in the following passages.
Born to poor uneducated farmer parents in a one-room log cabin, Abraham Lincoln’s journey to become one of the greatest presidents of the United States is truly remarkable and inspirational. He will be best remembered for playing a vital role in beginning the process that led to the end of slavery and preserving the Union during the Civil War. Above all, he will also be remembered for his letters and speeches, his character, determination and perseverance. Let us try to know more about this great, yet humble, leader of the United States.
Some Interesting Facts
- In 1842 Lincoln married Mary Todd and the couple had four sons, Robert, Edward, William and Thomas. Lincoln shared special relationships with Ann Rutledge, Mary Owens before he got engaged to Mary Todd.
- Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. In the 1860 presidential elections which he won, Lincoln did not campaign on-road, instead he resorted to the distribution of posters, leaflets and newspaper editorials.
- Lincoln closely supervised the selection of top generals, during the civil war. He was not only instrumental in defusing the Trent Affair with Britain in 1861, but also integrated the border slave states within the Union very successfully.
- Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is one of the most quoted political speeches in history. It marked the end of the bloody Battle of Gettysburg and the American Civil War. The speech was made on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
- Edwin Booth, the older brother of John Wilkes Booth who had assassinated Abraham Lincoln, had actually saved the life of Robert, one of Abraham Lincoln’s sons. Edwin had pulled Robert to safety when he fell into the space between an approaching train and the platform in 1864, in Jersey City.
- He was born in a one-room log cabin on Sinking Spring Farm, Kentucky. This made him the first US president from west of the Appalachian range.
- Lincoln’s ancestry is mapped down to Samuel Lincoln. Samuel had come to Massachusetts in the 17th century, from England.
- Lincoln’s education comprised only 18 months of schooling. Thereafter, he was self-educated and benefited a lot from his habit of reading.
- Lincoln could wrestle and was exceptionally skilled with an ax. But, he refrained from fishing and hunting because of his love for animals.
- Lincoln relished lamb shanks, chicken casserole, and scalloped oysters.
- Abraham Lincoln was born to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, on February 12, 1809. They were both uneducated farmers.
- He led the country through the American Civil War and not only preserved the Union, but also put an end to the social evil – slavery. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, initiated the end of slavery in the United States.
- Before his presidential election in 1860, Abraham Lincoln had served as a country lawyer, a state legislator in Illinois, a member of the House of Representatives and had campaigned twice for US Senate elections.
- Abraham Lincoln managed his own presidential re-election in 1864.
- He is ranked by scholars and historians from all over the world as one of the greatest U.S. Presidents.
- Abraham Lincoln was very close to his step-mother Sarah Bush Johnston, but distant from his father. His mother died of ‘milk sickness’, when Abraham was nine years old.
- Abraham Lincoln was always fascinated with machines and held the patent for a device that was created for keeping shipping vessels buoyant over shoals. The patent number was 6469, and it was issued on May 22, 1849.
- Abraham Lincoln came from a family that originally belonged to a Hardshell Baptist church. However, Abraham himself never ever joined any other church.
- Abraham Lincoln had a dream about his own assassination, which he shared with his main bodyguard Ward Hill Lamon, days before the actual event.
- His assassination made Lincoln the first American president to die in this manner. Abraham Lincoln died at the age of 56 and his mortal remains were buried at Springfield, Illinois.
Abraham Lincoln Trivia
» How tall was Abraham Lincoln?
» When did Abraham Lincoln become President?
» In which year did Abraham Lincoln die?
» Who killed Abraham Lincoln?
Lincoln’s accomplishments and perseverance to succeed in life were phenomenal and his life story serves as an inspiration to all. Lincoln was truly great because of his ability to mobilize and energize the nation by invoking its best ideals and by acting “with malice towards none” in the pursuit of a more just and perfect Union.