Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, while attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the head as he watched the play, Lincoln died the following day at 7:22 am, in the Petersen House opposite the theater. He was the first U.S. President to be.
Lincoln was in the forefront of American Politics only for 6 years as his life was cut short tragically after his assassination. But in that short span of time, he became the most hated and also the most beloved president in the United States. He was credited with tearing the country apart and bringing it back together, and he changed this country forever. Here are some interesting facts about Abraham Lincoln that might surprise you.
- Abraham Lincoln: to the bartender Can I get a coffee? the bartender hands Lincoln a coffee in a pewter mug Abraham Lincoln: Thank you. glancing at Jones Hey.
- Abraham Lincoln turned down the chance to host elephants. In 1861, the King of Siam offered to.
image: i.ytimg.com
1. He had no heirs!
Abraham Lincoln had four children with his wife, and only one survived to adulthood- Robert Todd Lincoln. Apparently Lincoln had no heirs, and his last known descendant passed away in 1985.
Source: Wikipedia, image: wikimedia.org
2. A lawyer without any degree!
Interestingly Abraham had about 18 month’s of formal education but had a very keen interest in learning. Most of what he had learned was from books he borrowed. He was self-educated and practiced law without a degree.
Source: Wikipedia
3. Lincoln was a wrestler!
Hard to believe but the fact is that Lincoln was an accomplished wrestler and was rumored to be a formidable opponent. He was defeated only once in 300 matches and has been enshrined in the Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Source: history.com
4. Abraham Lincoln was a licensed bartender!
Another interesting fact about Lincoln is that he had worked a variety of jobs before starting his political career. He worked as a merchant, a postmaster, a licensed bartender, a county surveyor and a lawyer, that too without any formal education in any of these fields. He was also a captain in the Illinois Militia before starting his political career.
Source: chicagoist.com
5. First President to have an inaugural photo taken!
Abraham Lincoln was the very first American president to have an inaugural photo taken. In the photo, the future assassin of the president- John Wilkes Booth is standing near Lincoln.
Source: Wikipedia, image: i.ytimg.com
6. History behind Lincoln’s “Beard”
Lincoln became the first President to sport a beard and that too on the request of an 11-year-old girl. Grace Greenwood wrote him a letter and told him to add some whiskers to his face which could hide his sunken cheeks and make him look a lot better. The little girl reasoned that all the ladies like beard and they would convince their husbands to vote for him, and he would win the elections. Request accepted! Mission accomplished!
Source: abrahamlincolnonline.org
7. Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln freed more than 3 million black slaves in America and reshaped the Civil War as a fight against slavery on New Year’s Day 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation was not supported by all Americans, many of whom were worried about a slave uprising.
Source: history.com, image: wikimedia.org
8. An advocate of woman empowerment!
Abraham Lincoln forwarded the idea of allowing women the right to vote. Twelve years before the first women’s rights convention, Lincoln had submitted a statement to a newspaper in Illinois supporting female suffrage.
Source: history.com, image: wikimedia.org
9. Thanks for Thanksgiving holiday!
Though Thanksgiving was being celebrated since early 1600’s, Lincoln established it as a national holiday during the Civil War in 1863. Due to the war, it could not be fully realized, so the actual Thanksgiving holiday started only after his death, in the 1870s.
Source: abrahamlincolnonline.org, image: slidesharecdn.com
10. Only president to have a patent
Benjamin Franklin isn’t the only political leader in America who had an innovative mind. Lincoln loved to dabble with machines and invented a device to free steamboats. He obtained Patent No. 6,469 for his design in 1849.
Source: history.com, image: simasgovlaw.com
11. The greatest example of persistence!
Abraham Lincoln is probably the greatest example of persistence in the history. When you feel like quitting, remember Abraham Lincoln. Born into poverty, he had to face defeat at every step of his life. He lost eight elections, failed in business and suffered depression. It was all due to his untiring efforts and never give up attitude that he became one of the greatest presidents the United States has ever had.
Source: Wikipedia
12. A hands-on commander-in-chief
Lincoln was passionate for gadgetry and had a keen interest in the artillery used by the Union troops during the Civil War. He used to meet with inventors demonstrating military prototypes, and he also attended artillery and cannon tests at the White House.
Source: history.com, image: wikimedia.org
13. Lincoln performed seances in the white house
Several historical records allege a seance was held at the White House after President Lincoln and Mary lost their 11-year-old son, who had fallen ill shortly after moving into the White House.
Source: theforbiddenknowledge.com, image: wikimedia.org
14. Secrets inside his hat!
Lincoln’s hat apart from being an accessory to personify his “frontier image” was also at several other facilities. Lincoln used to keep all his important documents inside his hat. Wonder what could be safer for all the confidential documents regarding the nation than a hat?
Source: lincolncottage.org, image: flickr
15. The inception of the Secret Service!
Lincoln had signed the legislation for creating the U.S. Secret Service on the evening of his assassination on April 14, 1865. Think what would have happened if the Secret Service had been established earlier? It still wouldn’t have saved Lincoln because the mission of the agency was to combat currency counterfeiting. It was only after 1901 when the Secret Service was given the responsibility to protect the commander-in-chief.
Source: history.com
16. Had dreams about his death!
Lincoln had a premonition that he was going to die shortly before his assassination. He reported that he had a dream where he heard someone crying inconsolably in the White House. He walked to the room that he heard the crying coming from and asked that person who died. The answer was “the President, ” and on going further, he saw his corpse in the coffin.
Source: history.com, image: i.kinja-img.com
17. The curious case of Lincoln’s Assassin!
Lincoln was a huge fan of Shakespeare and used to quote him frequently. Coincidentally his assassin was a famous Shakespearean actor, and Lincoln himself was a fan of him. Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at the Ford Theater in Washington D.C. while attending a play.
Source: Wikipedia, image: wikimedia.org
18. Lincoln’s Assassin’s Brother Saved his son’s life
Edwin Booth – John Wilkes Booth’s brother, saved Robert Lincoln from getting hit by a train not long before President was assassinated. After the assassination, Edwin was enveloped in shock and grief knowing that his brother was the man behind the murder. Edwin fought the depression taking comfort in the fact that he had been responsible for saving the life of his son.
Source: historynet.com, image: wikimedia.org
19. Grave robbers tried to kidnap Lincoln’s body
Even after Lincoln’s death, he was not left alone. In 1876 grave robbers tried to steal the corpse of Abraham Lincoln and were going to keep it for a ransom of $200,000 and release of one of their gang members from prison. Their plan was knocked off as the Secret Service agents had prior information about the plan and had relocated the corpse to an undisclosed location.
Source: usnews.com
20. Secret message in Lincoln’s watch
A secret message was engraved inside Abraham Lincoln’s gold pocket watch by a watchmaker Jonathan Dillon, which was discovered recently in 2009. The message was ‘The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a President who at least will try.’
Source: smithsonianmag.com, image: wikimedia.org
More from OhFact!
Last updated on April 6th, 2020
Abraham Lincoln, known for his determination and perseverance, is the most famous U.S. presidents in history. He became the 16th president of the U.S. on 4th March 1861. With these 47 interesting facts about Abraham Lincoln, let’s learn about his life, career, politics, mission, philosophy, and death.
Facts about Lincoln’s childhood, education, family, marriage, religious belief etc
1.Education: Lincoln was a self-educated man. He had little formal education; however, he practiced law. On the other hand, Lincoln’s dad was only literate enough to write his name.
2. He was the second child of his parents. They were farmers and their family lived in Kentucky until 1816. There’s hasn’t yet been a president who was an only child. The majority of US presidents were middle children.
3. Death of his mother: Lincoln’s mother died from drinking poisoned milk. His father soon married another woman by the name Sarah Bush Johnston, who was a widow. She had a good relation with Abraham and he liked her company as well.
4. Lincoln did not have a middle name.
5. Lincoln also worked as a licensed bartender.
6. Lincoln was an avid hunter.
7.Religion: Lincoln was never a member of an organized church. He read the bible to learn about Christianity.
8.Marriage: In 1842, Lincoln was got married to a 23-year old woman named Mary Todd who was just 5 feet 2 inches while Lincoln was 6 feet 4 inches. They had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity. Mary Todd Lincoln, the First Lady of the United States of America, passed away in 1882.
9. Abraham Lincoln also had a serious girlfriend named Mary. However, they broke up and he later married Mary Todd.
10.Wrestling career: Lincoln was a wrestler and an accomplished one. He lost just one fight out of the 300 he fought. He is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Facts about Lincoln’s: presidency, invention, the formation of the U.S. Secret Service, law practice etc
11. He was a general store owner, postmaster, and lawyer before being elected.
12.U.S. Secret Service: Lincoln gave birth to the U.S. Secret Service. However, it is disappointing that he was assassinated in spite of the formation of the Secret Service. Learn that Lincoln was shot the day when he signed the bill for the Secret Service. However, his purpose behind the agency was to stop currency counterfeiting which was highly prevalent at the time. The Secret Service was given the responsibility to protect the commander-in-chief after 1901 when two other presidents were killed.
13. Lincoln was so famous that a gang of robbers wanted to steal his corpse and demand $200,000 in ransom. However, the Secret Service intervened and prevented the robbers from the act.
14.Politics and science: do not be surprised to learn that Lincoln is the only president to have obtained a patent. Lincoln was awarded the patent for inventing a method to keep ships afloat on shallow water while near the shore. Patent No. 6,469 in 1849 belongs to Lincoln.
15. Lincoln was a keen politician and was passionate about testing rifles used by the U.S. forces. He tested them out in the open outside the White House, which was however not allowed by the law.
16.Escaping death: Lincoln narrowly escaped gunfire in 1864 when Confederate troops attacked Washington, D.C. He was yelled down by Colonel Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
17. Thanksgiving, which is a national holiday, was established by Lincoln. Yeah, we must thank him for the holiday. Shall not we?
18.He liked: Lincoln liked fruits so much that it was his favorite food.
19.Lucky man: Lincoln could have died before his assassination as he was saved twice during his lifetime. But he was not lucky the third time.
20.A career in Law: We told you Lincoln practiced law. He did. Actually, he lost a case before the Supreme Court in 1849.
About Lincoln’s personality, living in the White House, failures, depression, civil war, etc
21. Lincoln had huge feet. In fact, his shoe size was between 12 and 14. This is the biggest feet size in the U.S. president history.
22. In the White House: Lincoln did not sleep in his White House bedroom. He used the room as his office.
23. Abraham Lincoln hated to be called “Abe.”
24. Interestingly, Abraham Lincoln used his hat to keep his important documents.
25. Abraham Lincoln was against slavery and was the first politician to believe in the rights of the women to vote.
26. Lincoln had lots of cats in the White House. In fact, he had two cats that he fed on the dinner table. However, his wife did not like the act.
What Did Abe Lincoln Eat
27. Lincoln is known for failures. He failed in his first business and also lost his first bid for a presidential ticket. He lost 5 separate elections before being elected as the president of the U.S.
28. There are more books written about Lincoln than any other American or any other personality across the world – more than 15,000.
29. Depression was Lincoln’s friend during most of his life. He stayed depressed while he lost and fought. However, he never quit.
30. He is the first U.S. president to be assassinated. He has so much of history attuned to his name.
31. He was the president of the U.S. during the Civil War.
Lincoln And Alcohol
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