About
Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Born into poverty on the rugged Kentucky frontier, he embodied the self-made man, mastering law through relentless self-study amid backwoods hardships. Lincoln’s presidency defined an era, steering the country past the brink of dissolution while championing principles of equality that echo through modern democracy.
Famous For
Lincoln gained eternal fame for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, a bold executive order that declared freedom for enslaved people in Confederate-held territories and shifted the Civil War’s purpose toward abolition. He also delivered the timeless Gettysburg Address, a 272-word masterpiece that redefined democracy as “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
Age
Abraham Lincoln lived 56 years, entering the world on February 12, 1809, and departing on April 15, 1865, following a fatal gunshot wound at Ford’s Theatre.
Height and Physical Appearance
Towering at 6 feet 4 inches—unmatched among U.S. presidents—Lincoln cut a lanky, angular figure that contemporaries described as gangly yet commanding.
Early Life and Education
Lincoln’s formative years unfolded in a one-room Kentucky log cabin on Sinking Spring Farm, where he arrived as the second child of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln amid dire poverty. At age seven, the family trekked to Indiana’s dense forests, carving out a Pigeon Creek farm amid wolf howls and malaria outbreaks that claimed his mother at age nine.
Family
Thomas Lincoln, father (1778-1851), clashed with Abe over books vs. farm toil, relocating from Kentucky to Indiana. Nancy Hanks, mother (1784-1818), died of milk sickness at Abe’s age 9; sister Sarah (1807-1828) raised him briefly. Stepmother Sarah Bush Johnston married in 1819, nurtured his intellect; brother Thomas Jr. died infancy. Married Mary Todd (1818-1882) in 1842; sons Robert (1843-1926, survived), Edward (1846-50), Willie (1850-62), Tad (1853-71)—only Robert outlived father amid White House tragedies.
Career
Lincoln’s career rocketed from flatboat hauls (1828-31) dodging Mississippi snags to New Orleans slave sights, through New Salem flops (1831-37) as shopkeeper-postmaster-surveyor, into Illinois law-pushing legislature (1834-42). Barred in ’36, he crushed 5,000 circuit cases (1836-61) on rails and debts; lone Congress roar (1847-49) scorched Mexican War.
Relationship
Lincoln’s bond with Mary Todd simmered through broken 1841 engagements and whispers of earlier flames like Ann Rutledge, but their 1842 vows fused her Springfield polish with his prairie steel into a powerhouse duo.
Net Worth
At death, Lincoln’s estate tallied about $85,000—modest for a president—stemming from $15,000 in government salary arrears, home equity, and legal fees.
Trivia
Lincoln’s wrestling record hit 299-1, earning “Aquatic Enforcer” howls from county fairs before politics called. White House seances chased ghosts after Willie’s fever death, while Tad chased tadpoles; young Abe shunned meat like a proto-vegan. He foresaw his own end in a haunting dream weeks prior, napped through cabinet dozes only to snap awake with war-winning calls, and walked miles home from his own 1860 victory party to dodge pomp.