Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865)
Lincoln, one of America’s most admired presidents, grew up a
member of a poor family in Kentucky and Indiana. He attended
school for only one year, but thereafter read on his own in a
continual effort to improve his mind. As an adult, he lived in
Illinois and performed a variety of jobs including stints as a
postmaster, surveyor and shopkeeper, before entering politics.
Lincoln served in the Illinois legislature from 1834 to 1842 and
in Congress from 1847-1849, and then became an attorney. In
1842, Lincoln married Mary Todd; together, the pair raised four
sons. He served as the 16th president of the United States from
1861 until his assassination in 1865.
Abraham Lincoln is remembered as a martyr and hero of the
United States and is often ranked as the greatest president in
American history.
The farm site where Lincoln grew up in Spencer County,
Indiana.
