Basic Facts:
Birth: February 12, 1809 at Hardin (Now Larue) County, Kentucky
Death: April 15, 1865 at Washington, D. C.
Married: Mary Todd (1818-1882) on November 4, 1842
Children: 4: Robert, Edward, William, Thomas
President: Two terms beginning March 4, 1861 and March 4 1865 (died April, 1865)
Family
Mary Todd married Abraham Lincoln on November 4, 1842, at her sister Elizabeth’s home in Springfield, Illinois. She was 23 years old and he was 33 years of age.
Their four sons, all born in Springfield, were:
- Robert Todd Lincoln (1843–1926), lawyer, diplomat (U.S. Secretary of War), businessman. In 1875, concerned about his mother’s eccentric behavior, he had her committed to an asylum. She was released to live with her sister in 1876. Robert was married and had three children. Robert, who was in Washington when his father was killed, was also on the scene when Garfield was shot in 1881 and McKinley was assassinated in 1901. He refused to attend any further presidential functions.
- Edward Baker Lincoln, known as “Eddie” (1846–1850), died of tuberculosis
- William Wallace Lincoln, known as “Willie” (1850–1862), died of typhoid fever while Lincoln was President
- Thomas Lincoln, known as “Tad” (1853–1871), died at age 18 (either from pleurisy, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, or tuberculosis). He was nicknamed “Tad” by his father, for his small body and large head, and because he wiggled like a tadpole as an infant. Lincoln was born with a form of cleft lip and palate, causing him speech problems throughout his life.
Robert and Tad (Thomas) survived to adulthood and the death of their father, and only Robert outlived his mother.
Other:
Lincoln was the first president to die by assassination.
At 6 foot, 4 inches, Lincoln was the tallest president.
Abraham Lincoln was shot while watching a performance of “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The same play was also running at the McVerick Theatre in Chicago on May 18, 1860, the day Lincoln was nominated for president in that city.
The contents of his pockets on the night of his assassination weren’t revealed until February 12, 1976. They contained two pairs of spectacles, a chamois lens cleaner, an ivory and silver pocketknife, a large white Irish linen handkerchief, slightly used, with “A. Lincoln” embroidered in red, a gold quartz watch fob without a watch, a new silk-lined, leather wallet containing a pencil, a Confederate five-dollar bill, and news clippings of unrest in the Confederate army, emancipation in Missouri, the Union party platform of 1864, and an article on the presidency by John Bright.
Abe Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died when the family dairy cow ate White Snakeroot and she drank the milk.
Lincoln had a wart on his right cheek, a scar on his thumb from an ax accident, and a scar over his right eye from a fight with a gang of thieves.
Mrs. Lincoln’s brother, half-brothers, and brothers-in-law fought in the Confederate Army.
Lincoln was the only president to receive a patent, for a device for lifting boats over shoals.
He was the first president to wear a beard.
During the Civil War, telegraph wires were strung to follow the action on the battlefield. But there was no telegraph office in the White House, so Lincoln went across the street to the War Department to get the news.
He was the first president to be photographed at his inauguration. John Wilkes Booth (his assassin) can be seen standing close to Lincoln in the picture.
Lincoln and his wife held seances in the White House. They had great interest in psychic phenomena.
Abraham Lincoln was the first president to be born outside of the original thirteen colonies.
Lincoln loved the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
Lincoln may have had Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by being tall and thin, with long arms, legs, fingers, and toes.
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Sources:
Internet Public Library
Greenman, Barbara. The Timeline History of U. S. Presidents and First Ladies Thunder Bay Press, San Diego, California, 2009.