Abraham Lincoln - Featured Biography at Biography.com

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States (1861-65), who preserved the Union during the American Civil War and brought about the emancipation of the slaves.

Among American heroes, Lincoln continues to have a unique appeal for his fellow countrymen and also for people of other lands. This charm derives from his remarkable life story-the rise from humble origins, the dramatic death-and from his distinctively human and humane personality as well as from his historical role as savior of the Union and emancipator of the slaves. His relevance endures and grows especially because of his eloquence as a spokesman for democracy. In his view, the Union was worth saving not only for its own sake but because it embodied an ideal, the ideal of self-government. In recent years, the political side to Lincoln's character, and his racial views in particular, have come under close scrutiny, as scholars continue to find him a rich subject for research. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was dedicated to him on May 30, 1922.

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Lincoln is the only U.S. President to receive a patent. The device was to help ships avoid inadvertent grounding.
Lincoln had two siblings, Thomas and Sarah. Thomas died in infancy and Sarah died in childbirth at the age of twenty.
Abraham Lincoln is the tallest U.S. President at 6' 4".
Before becoming a lawyer and politician, Lincoln worked as a rail-splitter, flatboatman, storekeeper, postmaster and surveyor.
Mary Todd and Lincoln's engagement was broken off before they reconciled and married.
Only one of Abraham Lincoln's four sons outlived him.
Barack Obama took the Oath of Office on a bible that was used by Abraham Lincoln at his first inauguration in 1861. Ironically, the man who administered Lincoln's oath was Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney who authored the Supreme Court's ruling on the infamous Dred Scott decision.

Barack Obama's hand is placed on the same bible Lincoln was sworn in on during his inauguration in 2009

1809 Abraham Lincoln is born in Kentucky to parents, Thomas and Nancy, in a one-room cabin.
1816 The Lincoln family moves to Indiana.
1818 His mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, dies of milk sickness.
1819 Lincoln's father, Thomas Lincoln, marries Sarah Bush Johnston.
1828 His sister Sarah, dies in childbirth.
1830 Lincoln's family moves to Illinois.
1834 Lincoln is elected to the Illinois House of Representatives.
1836 Lincoln is granted a license to practice law.
1842 Abraham Lincoln marries Mary Todd Ryan.
1843 Mary Todd Lincoln gives birth to their first child, Robert Todd.
1846 The Lincolns' second child, Edward Baker, is born.
1846 Lincoln is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
1850 Edward Baker, the Lincolns' second child, dies at age three.
1850 The Lincoln's third son, William Wallace, is born.
1851 Lincoln's father dies.
1853 The Lincolns' fourth son, Thomas (Tad), is born.
1858-1859 Lincoln runs for Senator of Illinois but loses to Stephen A. Douglas.
1860 Lincoln becomes the first Republican elected to the office of President.
1861 The Confederate States of America are formed and Jefferson Davis is elected president.

1861 President Lincoln is inaugurated.
1861 Fort Sumter is attacked and surrenders to the Confederate forces.
1862 The Lincolns' son William Wallace (Willie) dies.
1863 Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation which frees all slaves in Confederate territory.
1863 Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg address.
1864 Lincoln is re-elected President.
1865 The House of Representatives passes the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, to the states.
1865 General Lee surrenders to General Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
1865 Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theatre.