Abraham Lincoln
February 12, 1809 — April 15, 1865 — Washington, D.C.
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, guided the nation through the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation. He died on April 15, 1865 — the first American president to be assassinated.
Early Life
Born on February 12, 1809 in a log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky, Lincoln was largely self-educated, reading by firelight as his family moved through Indiana and into Illinois. He worked as a farmer, store clerk, and postmaster before teaching himself law, passing the bar in 1837 and building a successful legal career in Springfield, Illinois.
The Presidency
Elected in 1860 on a platform opposing the expansion of slavery, Lincoln's victory prompted seven Southern states to secede before he took office. He navigated the catastrophic Civil War by assembling a "team of rivals" — appointing former opponents to key cabinet positions. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring enslaved people in Confederate states free. He won reelection in 1864 and delivered one of the most powerful second inaugural addresses in American history.
Did You Know?
Lincoln is the only U.S. president to hold a patent. In 1849 he invented a device to lift steamboats over shallow water using inflatable bellows attached to the hull. U.S. Patent No. 6,469 still exists in the National Archives. The invention was never manufactured.
Assassination & Legacy
Five days after Confederate General Lee surrendered, actor John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865. He died the following morning, April 15, 1865. Lincoln is consistently ranked the greatest president in American history. Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals remains the definitive modern account of his presidency.