Top 10 Interesting Facts about Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America had a very successful career and left behind some very important legacies. He was the first president to be assassinated and was also the tallest president, standing at a height of 6’4. He was elected president March, 1861 until his untimely death when he was shot in April, 1865.

#10

Lincoln was an accomplished wrestler, having been defeated only once in 300 matches. He earned himself a spot in the Wrestling Hall of Fame. He was known to hold his own in a wrestling match and was rumored to be a formidable opponent.

#9

Abraham Lincoln had four children together with his wife, Mary Todd, only one of which, Robert Todd Lincoln, survived to adulthood. Edwin Booth (John Wilkes Booth’s brother) saved Robert from getting hit by a train. Lincoln has no heirs. His last known descendent passed away in 1985.

#8

Lincoln was the first President to wear a beard while serving in office. Every other president had been clean shaven until he took office with his facial hair.

#7

Mary Todd’s parents were against her marriage to Lincoln because they were from a privileged background and Lincoln came from an extremely poor background.

#6

Abraham Lincoln was the first political leader to bring forward the idea of allowing women the right to vote. While Lincoln was a state legislator, he submitted a statement to a newspaper in Illinois that supported female suffrage twelve years before the first women’s rights convention.

#5

Lincoln was the very first president to have an inaugural photo taken. In the photo John Wilkes Booth, the future assassin of the president is standing quite close to Lincoln.

#4

Shortly before his assassination, Lincoln had a premonition that he was going to die. He stated 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 when he walked over the coffin to view the body, he same himself lying dead in the coffin.

#3

Grave robbers tried to steal the corpse of Abraham Lincoln in 1876. A Chicago counterfeiting gang tried to steal the body from the tomb which was only protected with a small padlock in a cemetery located in Springfield, Illinois. They were going to keep the body in return it for a $200,000 ransom as well as having one of their members released from prison. Secret Service agents had infiltrated the gang already and knew of the plan, so they relocated Lincoln’s body to an undisclosed location in an unmarked grave and entombed the body under ten feet of concrete with the coffin encased in a steel cage.

#2

Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on New Year’s Day 1863 which freed all slaves in every rebellious state. Since the Proclamation was originally classified as a military order, its responsibility legally rested with the commander-in-chief (Lincoln). Lincoln had always pondered the “peculiar institution” and paired personal moral progression with some interesting political maneuvers designed to set out the path for his shocking announcement. The Emancipation Proclamation was not supported by all Americans, many of whom were worried about a slave uprising.

#1

It has been noted that there are a number of bizarre coincidences between Lincoln’s assassination death and the untimely assassination of John F. Kennedy. One could probably find similar coincidences between other famous people if they look hard enough, but these facts are weird and include: 

Presidents’ successors had the last name Johnson – Andrew Johnson succeeded Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson succeeded Kennedy. 

Andrew Johnson’s birth year is 1808 and Lyndon Johnson’s was 1908 – yet another 100 year coincidence. 

Both Lincoln and Kennedy were elected to Congress exactly one hundred years apart. Lincoln’s election took place in 1846 while Kennedy’s election took place in 1946. 

Both men were elected as president one hundred years apart also with Lincoln’s election taking place in 1860 and Kennedy’s taking place in 1960. 

Both Kennedy and Lincoln were shot in the head on a Friday. 

Lincoln and Kennedy both contain seven letters while the names of their assassins both contain fifteen. 

Both men were killed by assassins who were commonly known by their three names – Lee Harvey Oswald – Kennedy’s assassin and John Wilkes Booth – Lincoln’s assassin.