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Feb. 12, 1809 |
Born in Hardin Co., Ky. |
1816 |
Family moves to Indiana |
1830 |
Family settles on public land, Macon Co., Ill. |
1832 |
Lincoln at age 23 makes unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the Illinois General Assembly. |
1832 |
Lincoln’s military service in the Black Hawk War. He never saw action. |
1834 |
Wins election to state legislature. |
1837 |
Admitted to the bar and moves from New Salem to the state capital in Springfield. |
Nov. 4, 1842 |
Married to Mary Todd from Lexington, Ky. |
1846 |
Elected to U.S. House of Representatives |
1858 |
Nominated by Republicans for U.S. Senator, loses to Stephen A. Douglas, but Lincoln-Douglas Debates establish Lincoln's national reputation |
May 16, 1860 |
Presidential nomination in Chicago (on third ballot) |
March 4, 1861 |
Presidential inauguration; Age: 52 |
April 12, 1861 |
Union troops at Fort Sumter, Charleston, S.C., fired upon by Confederates beginning Civil War |
July 2, 1862 |
Lincoln signs Morrill Land-Grant Act that ultimately creates University of Illinois and other land-grant universities |
Sept. 22, 1862 |
Announced: Emancipation Proclamation frees slaves in states not under Union control |
Jan. 1, 1863 |
Effective: Emancipation Proclamation frees slaves in states not under Union control |
Nov. 19, 1863 |
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery, Gettysburg, Pa. |
March 4, 1865 |
Second inauguration |
April 9, 1865 |
Robert E. Lee surrenders his Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House ending Civil War |
April 14, 1865 |
Shot by assassin John Wilkes Booth, at Ford's Theater, Washington, D.C. |
April 15, 1865 |
Died from wound; Age: 56 |
Lincoln by the Numbers
Height: 6 feet, 4 inches
Legal career in Illinois: 5,100 cases in 23-year career
Children: Four sons. Only one, Robert, lived to adulthood. Robert's grandson "Bud" Beckwith, the last known person known to be a direct descendant of Lincoln, died in 1985.
Lincoln-Douglas Debates: Held seven times in the 1858 campaign for the U.S. Senate at different locations around the state of Illinois following two debates in Springfield and Chicago. The main topic was slavery. The format of the debates was that one candidate spoke for an hour. Then, the other spoke for an hour and one-half followed by half an hour response by the first speaker.
Civil War casualties:
Union: 365,000 killed, 282,000 wounded
Confederacy: Unknown
(Source: Chicago Tribune, March 30, 2008)