Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States from 1861 to 1865. Born in a Kentucky log cabin in 1809, he grew up in Indiana and built a law practice in Springfield, Illinois.
Lincoln was the first Republican president. His 1860 election was followed by the secession of Southern states and the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861.
Key Moments
He issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and delivered the Gettysburg Address that November. He won reelection in 1864, and in January 1865 Congress passed the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, later ratified that December.
Did You Know
Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theatre in Washington on April 14, 1865, and died the next morning, days after Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. He is the only president to hold a patent, for a device to lift boats over shoals.
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