“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.”
“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”
“Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new at all.”
“Don’t worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.”
“Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or not, I can say for one that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem.”
“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.”
“If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance.”
Abraham Lincoln
- Born: 12 February 1809
- Birthplace: Near Hodgenville, Kentucky
- Died: 15 April 1865 (assassination by gunshot)
- Best Known As: The Civil War president who wrote the Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States from 1861 until his shocking assassination in 1865. The colorful stories about Lincoln’s life really are true: He was born in a log cabin and grew up on the American frontier, educated himself by reading borrowed books, and worked splitting fence rails and clerking in a general store, and then as a country lawyer, long before he became president. He served in the Illinois General Assembly for eight years and in the U.S. House of Representatives for one term (1847-49) before his election as the nation’s first Republican president in 1860. As president he is best remembered for leading the Union through the Civil War and freeing Confederate slaves with the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation; for delivering the Gettysburg Address, the most famous oration in American history, on 19 November 1863; and for his tragic assassination by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. Upon Lincoln’s death, Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency. The Lincoln Memorial, with its famous statue of Lincoln by Daniel Chester French, was dedicated in Washington in 1922.
He married Mary Anne Todd in 1842… Yes, that’s Lincoln on the U.S. penny and the five dollar bill. Lincoln also named Salmon P. Chase to be Chief Justice of the United States in 1864, and Chase is on the $10,000 bill… Lincoln was preceded by James Buchanan, the only president to remain a bachelor for life… Lincoln was the first president to be born outside the original thirteen states… He was the first president to wear a beard while in office… Lincoln’s oldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln, was present at three assassinations: his father’s, President Garfield‘s in 1881 and President McKinley‘s in 1901… A famous (and enormous) biography of Lincoln was written by 20th-century author Carl Sandburg… Lincoln was the 16th president.
Biography from Answers.com
Quotes from BrainyQuote.com
My Literary Quest 
Good post, Jodi.
At the risk of showing my advanced years, I discovered something when your post inspired me to pick up a calculator.
I must admit that history often surprises me… especially American history. You see, it is very short. These days a person could easily live 80 years, or more.
When I did the math, I found that Lincoln died a mere 80 years before I was born. These days even 100 years doesn’t seem so long a time to me, and 80 years… well, that’s in the neighborhood.
I regularly surprise myself when I think about dates and events relative to eachother in time. Especially when I see a quaint, black and white film from the 50s… and then realize it came out only 10 years before I was born.
Here’s an interesting thought: T-rex (one of the last dinosaurs) and humans are relative neighbors in time compared to T-rex and Coelophysis (one of the first dinosaurs). 65 million years for us and Rex, but a whopping 120 million for Rex and Coelophysis.
It is a truly short history, read one of those forwarded emails about how 50 years ago things like color TV and penicillin were just catching on. My kids will most likely see a corded phone or a wrist watch in their lifetimes.
This was so very interesting. Just look at his accomplishments in only 56 years. Will have to save these quotes, too (I still have the puns 🙂 ).
Can’t go wrong with the classics, I’m flattered that you like them so much! I’ll try to keep it up, suggestions are always welcome.
Lincoln remains a figure in our history who has generally avoided being smeared. Most all of what we learned about him when we were young still holds up. The fact that he was a flawed human being only serves to make him greater in my estimation. He suffered from depression yet persevered. He will always loom large in the pantheon of my heroes, precisely because he was so human. Happy Birthday #202 Mr. President!
If only more people would be willing to man up to their flaws instead of blaming it on their circumstances, would be a better world indeed. He is truly one of the greats.
My fave:
“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”
Thanks, Jodi
Can’t have one without the other! Standing firm in the wrong place, bad idea. Being a pushover about what is right, even worse.