The Most Interesting But Not So Known Facts About Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln became the 16th president of the U.S. on 4th March 1861 and he has remained a national hero ever since. He is the most talked about U.S. president and despite that, there are still lots of fun facts that people don’t know about him, mostly because they aren’t taught in school. Well, here is where we come in because today we are going to present the top 20 most interesting but not so known facts about Abraham Lincoln.

20. The Nickname

One of the most interesting things about the former U.S. president is that he hated being called “Abe”. Unfortunately for him, the nickname was catchy and everyone started using it when talking about him.

19. Great Bartender

What many people don’t know about Abraham Lincoln is that he was a great bartender. Not just that, but he was actually certified and he was known for making some of the best cocktails.

18. Powerful Wrestler

You wouldn’t want to get in a ring with Abraham Lincoln! The reason behind this being that he was a powerful wrestler losing only one match in 300 professional fights. In fact, the former president is actually enshrined in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

17. Self-Educated

Despite being one of the smartest people in the world, he didn’t have any formal education. Abraham Lincoln was self-educated and this shows us just how clever he was.

16. Humble Beginnings

You would think that a man such as Abraham Lincoln lived a wealthy life, but this wasn’t the case. His parents were farmers and they worked the fields in Kentucky until 1816.

15. Women Voting Rights

He is famous for abolishing slavery, but this isn’t the only visionary idea that he had. He also wanted women to have the right to vote since back in 1836. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen during his lifetime.

14. Animal Lover

Abraham Lincoln was a known animal lover. He never wanted to fish or hunt and this leads to believe that if he was alive today, Abraham Lincoln would probably run an animal shelter.

13. Losing The First Campaign

Even though he became one of the most famous U.S. presidents to take over the White House, Abraham Lincoln actually lost his first campaign. People didn’t know who he was yet and he didn’t get enough votes.

12. The Lost Speech

Back in 1856, the former U.S. president gave a speech that was so powerful that everyone who listened to it dropped down their pencil and stopped taking notes. This is why there are no records of what Abraham Lincoln talked about in this speech.

11. Good Comeback

During a debate, Stephen Douglas said that Abraham Lincoln is a two-faced person, to which the famed president responded with: “Honestly, if I were two-faced, would I be showing you this one?”.

10. He Was Tall!

One of the reasons why Abraham Lincoln was such a powerful wrestler and respected figure is because he was really tall. He measured in at 6’4″ and he surely inspired fear into all his wrestling opponents.

9. Big Beard

The beard is one of Abraham Lincoln’s most popular features and we have a little girl named Grace Bedell to thank for that. The little girl wrote a letter to the president and told him that if he grew a beard, then he was going to do better in the presidential campaign since his face was too thin.

8. Failed Assassination Attempt

Many people don’t know this but John Wilkes Booth was not the first one to try to assassinate the president. Someone else tried and failed. The assassin shot his rifle and hit the president’s big hat instead.

7. Stealing Lincoln

Another fun but strange fact most people don’t know is that back in 1876, a gang tried to steal Abraham Lincoln’s body from his tomb and their plan was to ask a ransom of $200,000 for it to be returned.

6. John Wilkes Booth

As everyone is aware by now, John Wilkes Booth used to be an actor and he is the one who assassinated Abraham Lincoln. The fun fact here is that the former U.S. president was actually a fan of John Wilkes Booth and he came to his shows.

5. The Secret Service

Abraham Lincoln formed the Secret Service hours before he was assassinated. However, the Secret Service was designed to help catch currency counterfeiting and not to protect the president. Their mission changed after two more presidents were assassinated.

4. Not A Religious Person

He was not a religious person at all. The only reason why Abraham Lincoln read the bible was so that he can learn more about Christianity and the people who follow it.

3. The First Lady

Abraham Lincoln got married in 1842 to a 23-years-old woman named Mary Todd. She was 5’2″ which made the president’s height stand out. They had four kids and only one of them lived to maturity.

2. Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of the most popular and beloved American tradition and yes, you guessed it! Abraham Lincoln is the one who established this tradition.

1. Sleeping Room

Abraham Lincoln had a special room in the White House where he could sleep but instead, the former president decided to use that room as an office so that he wouldn’t have to walk all the way to the oval office.