Lincoln's Birthday

Lincoln’s Birthday, also known as Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday, Abraham Lincoln Day, or Lincoln Day, is celebrated annually on February 12. He was born on this date in 1809. It is a legal holiday in some states, namely Illinois, Kentucky, Connecticut, Missouri, New York, Ohio, California, and Indiana.

Other states celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birth on Presidents’ Day, also known as Washington’s Day. 

A Brief Biography of Abraham Lincoln

Early Life

Born in Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln grew up in Indiana until he turned 21 years old when he moved to Illinois. He went on to have many jobs during this time. He was a farmer, postman, shopkeeper, worked on a river flatboat, and eventually became a self-taught lawyer.

Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd on November 4, 1842, and together they had four children. However, out of them, only the eldest son Robert Todd Lincoln survived to live a long life.

Political Life

At the age of 23, in 1832, he joined politics as an Illinois State Legislator, and Congressman and eventually became the leader of the Whig Party. In 1849 he left politics to practice law. 

Lincoln returned in 1854 to lead the new Republican Party and gained national notoriety in 1858 during the debates against Democrat Stephen Douglas. Lincoln was elected as the 16th President of the United States of America in 1860. 

During his Presidency, he became known as Honest Abe and the Great Emancipator. While in office, he led the Union to victory during the American Civil War, abolished slavery, and imposed the income tax and the military draft. 

Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, while watching a play at the Ford Theatre in Washington D.C. He was fifty-six years old at the time.

History of the Celebration of Lincoln’s Birthday

It was on February 12, 1866, almost a year after his assassination, that George Bancroft gave the first address to Congress commemorating Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. He believed that he was a man who should always be remembered by Americans for his great feats. 

A few years later, in 1873 a New York shopkeeper in Buffalo named Julius Francis began a long and repeated campaign for Congress to get Lincoln’s Birthday recognized as a public holiday. He sent the first letter to Congress for this purpose which was signed by 50 other New York residents. One year later, Francis organized the first public celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, something he did yearly until his death in 1881.

However, not all Americans were interested in a national celebration of Lincoln’s birthday. Many people in the South were against this due to Lincoln’s controversial politics of reconstruction. 

In 1887, Hannibal Hamlin, a former Vice-President of Abraham Lincoln, wrote a letter to the Republican Party lamenting the fact that there wasn’t a national day for President Lincoln. He also said how Lincoln’s legacy was being erased by George Washington.

Eventually, almost a century later, a few states passed legislation that officially recognized Lincoln’s birthday as a public holiday. Most notoriously, Illinois, also known as the “Land of Lincoln” made it into an official school holiday. After that. the states of New York, Connecticut, and Missouri followed suit. 

Even though Lincoln’s Birthday has not been made a public holiday, many Americans still take the time to honor him on his day, as he is one of the most admired United States Presidents. 

How to celebrate Lincoln’s Birthday

Every year on February 12 there are several wreath-laying ceremonies on Lincoln landmarks all across the United States, notably at his birthplace in Kentucky, and at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C, where there is also a reading of the Gettysburg Address.

The states that recognize the day as a holiday organize many events to commemorate the day, such as concerts, birthday parties, and re-enactments. 

You might also be interested in Presidents' Day.