Today would have been Abraham Lincoln's 207th birthday. He was born February 12, 1809, in Kentucky.
Though Lincoln came from humble beginnings, the self-taught lawyer eventually became the 16th president of the United States in 1861. His legacy of preserving the union lives on today.
Here are five facts about Honest Abe in honor of his birthday:
1. The Illinois state slogan may be “Land of Lincoln,” but the former president did not move to the state until he was 21-years-old. Lincoln was born in Kentucky, moved to Indiana when he was 7-years-old and later moved to Illinois with his family. He resided there until he became president in 1861, according to the Illinois State Museum.
2. You can thank Lincoln for Thanksgiving as we know it. Sure, the Pilgrims are credited with starting the tradition of Thanksgiving in America. But declaring Thanksgiving Day a formal holiday on the fourth Thursday in November required a pair of presidents— two of the most famous, in fact— Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was Lincoln who issued an 1863 proclamation calling on Americans to "set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanks giving," partly to celebrate victories in the then-raging Civil War.
3. Lincoln probably could have written the “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” At age 21, Lincoln was preparing to move from Indiana to Illinois and was clearing out some of his things. He gave a wooden mallet to an Indiana neighbor named Barnabas Carter. Carter’s family members passed the mallet down from generation to generation. That cherry wood mallet with the initials A.L. on the top is now on display at the Indiana State Museum.
4. Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865, while attending a play at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. Lincoln died little less than a week after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen.Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, signaling the end of the Civil War.
5. Did Lincoln stick around after his death? An original print of Mary Todd Lincoln by the infamous spirit photographer William H. Mumler, allegedly to shows the president's ghost standing behind the former first lady with his hands on her shoulders, lovingly watching over her. Mumler photographed the former first lady in 1872, seven years after her husband's assassination. The photographer and his wife, a famous "healing medium" who conducted business in her own right, began his successful business in Boston and later moved to New York. But critics claimed Mumler was a fraud, and he was brought to trial.
Gallery: Specter of Abraham Lincoln lingers in famous photo
Contributing: David Jackson, USA TODAY; and Michelle Pemberton and Will Higgins, The Indianapolis Star
