By Danielle Daniels
The 16th president of the United States was born on the morning of Sunday, February 12, 1809, in a one-room, 16×18-foot, log cabin with a dirt floor. Called Sinking Spring Farm, the land was situated near Hodgenville, Kentucky.
Abe’s father, Thomas, was a farmer and carpenter, and his mother, Nancy, was a seamstress. His sister, Sarah, was 2 at the time. Abraham was named after his paternal grandfather. Lincoln pursued a legal career before turning to a political one that eventually led to the U.S. presidency.
In addition to his more famous achievements, Lincoln is the only U.S. president to have received a U.S. patent, for something he described in this way: “A new and improved manner of combining adjustable buoyant air chambers with a steamboat or other vessel for the purpose of enabling their draught of water to be readily lessened to enable them to pass over bars, or through shallow water, without discharging their cargoes.”
If you can’t get to Washington, D.C., honor Lincoln by visiting the Lincoln Memorial, part of our National Park System.
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams (U.S. First Lady) –
- Charles Darwin (naturalist) –
- Abraham Lincoln (16th U.S. president) –
- Lorne Greene (actor) –
- Judy Blume (writer) –
- Michael McDonald (musician) –
- Josh Brolin (actor) –
- Tara Strong (voice of Bubbles on The Powerpuff Girls) –
- Jesse Spencer (actor) –
- Christina Ricci (actress) –
Died
- Ethan Allen (patriot) –
- The Earl of Dufferin (Canadian Governor General 1872 – 1878) –
- Sal Mineo (actor) –
- Eubie Blake (jazz musician) –
- Charles Schulz (Peanuts cartoonist) –
- David Groh (actor) –
- David Kelly (actor) –
- Sid Caesar (comedian & actor) –
Events
- Lady Jane Grey, a rival for the English throne, was beheaded under the rule of Queen Mary I–
- James Oglethorpe founded Savannah, Georgia–
- Gala carnival at first U.S. skating rink, Madison Square Garden, New York City–
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) formed–
- Construction began on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.–
- The Scream painting stolen, Oslo, Norway–
- 17th Olympic Winter Games opened in Lillehammer, Norway–
- Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude opened The Gates, Project For Central Park 1979-2005 in NYC’s Central Park–
- For the first time, a beagle won ‘Best in Show’ at the Westminster Kennel Club–
- A magnitude 6.6 earthquake shook southern Mexico–
- Figure skater Mirai Nagasu became the first American woman (and third woman overall) to land a triple axel at the Winter Olympic Games (which took place at PyeongChang, South Korea, that year).–
- The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII–
Weather
- Forty-seven degrees below zero F, Camp Clarke, Nebraska–
- Fort Myers, Florida, had a trace of snow–
- A Northeaster left 27 inches of snow in Central Park, New York–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
