Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hardin (now Larue) County, Kentucky. His father was Thomas Lincoln and his mother was Nancy Hanks Lincoln. His mother died when Abraham was 9 years old. Lincoln had no formal education but, as legend tells it, he taught himself to “read, write and cipher” by the light of his log cabin fireplace. He served as our nation’s 16^th President, from March 4, 1861 to April 15, 1865.  

     Mr. Lincoln was a lawyer. He was our first President to have been born outside the original 13 colonies. Mr. Lincoln was elected to serve in the Illinois State Legislature and, later, served in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was our tallest President (6’4”) and the first President to wear a beard. He held a patent for a device he invented for lifting boats over shoals. He was an avid reader and his favorite author was Mr. Edgar Allen Poe.

     Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in 1842. They had four sons: Robert, Edward, William and Thomas (“Tad”). Soon after Mr. Lincoln became President, the southern states seceded from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America. This led to a bloody Civil War in which more than 600,000 people lost their lives. Lincoln won re-election in 1864.

     President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865. He died the next day at the age of 56. It was then said: “Now he belongs to the ages.”