When I was growing up, Lincoln had his very own birthday — nowadays, he’s been kind of pushed aside and his birthday is lumped into President’s Day and has just kind of gotten lost in all the February holidays. (This year they even scheduled the Super Bowl on Abe’s birthday — traditionally, the game has been played on the first Sunday in February, but due to the fact that an extra game was added to the schedule, the Super Bowl was moved back to the second Sunday.)
But there’s not too much danger that people will forget about Abraham Lincoln. More than 15,000 books have been written about him — not including U.S. history textbooks. He’ll always be remembered for his leadership during the Civil War.
Of course there are lots of “Lincoln things” that don’t make it into textbooks or biographies….
We know that Lincoln was one of the tallest presidents, but his voice seemed inappropriate for his height. Lincoln’e voice has been described as “high-pitched and reedy.” People that heard him speak often described his voice as “unpleasant.” For most people, however, the power of his words usually outweighed unpleasantness in his delivery.
Lincoln was acknowledged as a powerful writer and speaker but he had a weakness in spelling. Interestingly, the word “inaugural” was a problem — he wrote “inaugeral” on his handwritten copy of his second inaugural address. Even though he was president and gave inaugural address, he routinely misspelled “inaugural.” He probably would have loved today’s spell check apps.
The Lincolns left the White House during the summer and lived in a cottage at the Soldier’s Home. The Soldiers’ Home is just three miles from the White House and in the city now, but in Lincoln’s day, it was out in the country. Abe commuted to and from work on horseback — sometimes riding alone. His wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, reportedly wasn’t happy about that.
Lincoln was invited to the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. But the main speaker was to be Edward Everett — one of the best known and most regarded orators of the day. Lincoln was invited to make “a few appropriate remarks.” Everett spoke for about two hours, and Lincoln spoke for about two minutes….
Here’s a few interesting things about Abe — starting with the fact that he didn’t like being called Abe. He preferred that people call him Abraham.
He loved animals and had a cat named Tabby and a dog named Fido. He liked the cat so much she ate dinner at the White House table.
Lincoln was the first president to be born outside the original 13 colonies.
He never slept in the Lincoln bedroom.
Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, held séances in the White House.
He lost five separate elections before he became President of the U.S.
So let’s all remember Abraham Lincoln today on his 214th birthday. He’s often quoted, but today, especially, remember that he said, “I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.”
Happy Birthday Abe!
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