- The first president to be photographed at his inauguration. John Wilkes Booth (his assassin) can be seen standing close to him in the picture.
- Related to Camille O. Cosby and Tom Hanks through his mother, Nancy Hanks.
- Was a wrestler in his youth. In one fight h e lifted his opponent clear off the ground by the throat and slammed him onto the ground again. This move would later be known as the "chokeslam".
- The last words in the play that he heard before his assassination was the (apparent) punchline "You sockdagolized old mantrap!" This line set the entire theater into waves of laughter, giving John Wilkes Booth the aural cover he needed to shoot Lincoln.
- The first US. president to be assassinated.
- Suffered from insomnia and would often roam the halls of the White House when he couldn't sleep.
- On Good Friday, 4/14/1865, he attended the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater. John Wilkes Booth, who was a famous actor and friend of owner John Ford, had free access to all parts of the theater, sneaked into his box and shot him fatally in the back of the head with a .44-cal. Deringer pistol.
- Wrote all of his own speeches, including his famous "Gettysburg Address".
- Invited black abolitionist Frederick Douglass to his second inauguration. When Douglass was refused entry by police, the president approached and proclaimed Douglass to be a friend.
- His voice was described as quite high-pitched and nasal.
- Samuel J. Seymour was in the audience at Ford's Theater when Lincoln was assassinated. Five years old at the time, when he appeared on Desi Arnaz; Witness to Abraham Lincoln's assassination (1956) to tell his story, he was the last living person to have witnessed the assassination.
- Never went to school or college.
- His son Robert Lincoln, who was in Washington when his father was killed, was also on the scene when President James A. Garfield was shot in 1881 and President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901.
- He and his wife held seances in the White House. They had great interest in psychic phenomena.
- He was the first bearded president.
- The first words spoken at his bedside after he expired were, "Now he belongs to the ages", spoken by his Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. Those words are written over Lincoln's grave.
- Robert Lincoln Beckwith, his last surviving descendant, died in 1985.
- His coffin has been moved 17 times since its original burial in 1865. This is because of construction done to his tomb. The coffin itself has been opened five times: 12/21/1865, 9/19/1871, 10/9/1874, 4/14/1877 and 9/26/1901.
- Not known at the time, it is now believed that Lincoln suffered from Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia (MEN) a condition inherited and identified by malignancies in the pituitary gland. It is thought that this condition accounted for his height.
- Did not like the name Abraham or any variations, preferring instead to be called by his last name. Especially hated being called "Abe".
- The Lincoln cent, issued in 1909, was the first coin to have the likeness of an American on it.
- Solidly 6'4", he is still the tallest President of the US.
- Son Willie died during his first year in the White House (1862).
- The first president to be born outside the original 13 colonies.
- The contents of his pockets on the night of his assassination weren't revealed until 2/12/1976. They contained two pairs of spectacles; a chamois lens cleaner; an ivory-and-silver pocketknife; a large white Irish linen handkerchief, slightly used, with "A. Lincoln" embroidered in red; a gold quartz watch fob without a watch; a new silk-lined, leather wallet containing a pencil; a Confederate five-dollar bill; news clippings of unrest in the Confederate army, emancipation in Missouri, the Union party platform of 1864; and an article on the presidency by John Bright.
- When he was assassinated, his son Willie's casket was disinterred so the boy could be buried next to his father. The two caskets traveled together on a train back to Illinois.
- Mary Surratt, one of the conspirators involved in his assassination, was the first woman to be executed in the US.
- His wife had a long history of mental health issues and spent much time in institutions. She is believed to have suffered from Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
- Was the first major American leader to advocate extending voting rights to women and wrote on the subject in 1836.
- Loved attending the theater. He once attended a show of "The Marble Heart" starring his future assassin John Wilkes Booth.
- Inducted into the National Railroad Hall of Fame.
- Had one sister, Sarah, who was two years older; and a brother who died in infancy.
- Contrary to popular belief, he was not shot in the back of the head. Rather, the point of entry for the bullet was just behind his left ear.
- The only non-British citizen to have a statue in parliament square in London.
- During the Civil War, telegraph wires were strung to follow the action on the battlefield. However, there was no telegraph office in the White House, so he went across the street to the War Department to get news about the war.
- The only president to receive a patent, for a device for lifting boats over shoals.
- Was 52 years old when he became president.
- Inducted into the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in 1900 (inaugural class).
- His mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died when the family dairy cow ate White Snakeroot and she drank the milk.
- First Republican president.
- Born on the same day as Charles Darwin.
- West Virginia (1863) and Nevada (1864) admitted to Union during his administration.
- Loved the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
- He first spoke out against slavery in 1837 to the Illinois state legislature.
- Sixteenth president of the US (3/4/1861-4/15/1865).
- Pictured on the 4¢ US postage stamp in the Liberty Series, issued 11/19/1954.
- Before he became President he worked as a store clerk, rail-splitter and lawyer.
- Has more national parks named in his honor than any other President.
- Queen Victoria wrote a letter of condolence to Lincoln's widow upon learning of his assassination. Ironically, Great Britain backed the southern states, its main trading partners, in the Civil War.
- Inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1992 in the category Outstanding American.
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