Robert Todd Lincoln - wikipedia Robert Todd Lincoln `` Robert Lincoln '' redirects here. For other uses, see Robert Lincoln ( disambiguation ). Robert Todd Lincoln 35th United States Secretary of War In office March 5, 1881 -- March 5, 1885 President James Garfield Chester A. Arthur Preceded by Alexander Ramsey Succeeded by William C. Endicott United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom In office 1889 -- 1893 President Benjamin Harrison Preceded by Edward J. Phelps Succeeded by Thomas F. Bayard Personal details ( 1843 - 08 - 01 ) August 1, 1843 Springfield, Illinois, U.S. July 26, 1926 ( 1926 - 07 - 26 ) ( aged 82 ) Manchester, Vermont, U.S. Cause of death Intracerebral hemorrhage Resting place Arlington National Cemetery Arlington County, Virginia Political party Republican Spouse ( s ) Mary Eunice Harlan ( m. 1868 ) Children Mamie Lincoln Abraham Lincoln II Jessie Harlan Lincoln Parents Abraham Lincoln Mary Todd Lincoln Alma mater Harvard University Union College of Law Profession Lawyer Politician Signature Military service Service / branch Union Army Years of service 1865 Rank Captain Battles / wars American Civil War Robert Todd Lincoln ( August 1, 1843 -- July 26, 1926 ) was an American politician, lawyer, and businessman. He was the first son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. Born in Springfield, Illinois, he was the only one of Lincoln 's four sons to live an adult life ( his brother Tad Lincoln died shortly after his 18th birthday ), and the only member of the family to survive into the 20th century. Lincoln attended Harvard University, and then served on the staff of Ulysses S. Grant as a captain in the Union Army in the closing days of the American Civil War. Following completion of law school in Chicago, he built a successful law practice, becoming wealthy representing corporate clients. After the war Lincoln married Mary Eunice Harlan, the daughter of a United States senator. They remained married until his death, and were the parents of three children. Active in Republican politics, and a tangible symbol of his father 's legacy, Robert Lincoln was often spoken of as a possible candidate for office, including the presidency, but never took steps to mount a campaign. The one office to which he was elected was town supervisor of South Chicago, which he held from 1876 to 1877 ; the town later became part of the city of Chicago. Lincoln accepted appointments as secretary of war in the administration of James A. Garfield, continuing under Chester A. Arthur, and as minister to the UK in the Benjamin Harrison administration. In Lincoln 's later years he resided at homes in Washington, D.C. and Manchester, Vermont ; the Manchester home, Hildene, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Lincoln remained active almost until his death and held leadership positions with the Pullman Palace Car Company from 1897 onward. In 1922, he took part in the dedication ceremonies for the Lincoln Memorial. Lincoln died at Hildene on July 26, 1926, six days before his eighty - third birthday, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Contents 1 Family and early life 1.1 Relationship with Mary Todd Lincoln 2 Politics 2.1 Secretary of War ( 1881 -- 1885 ) 2.2 Minister to the Court of St. James 's 2.3 Later life 3 Presence at assassinations 4 Robert Lincoln and Edwin Booth 5 Republican politics 6 Death and legacy 7 Cultural depictions 8 See also 9 References 10 Sources 11 External links Family and early Life Robert Todd Lincoln was born in Springfield, Illinois, on August 1, 1843, to Abraham Lincoln ( 1809 -- 1865 ) and Mary Todd Lincoln ( 1818 -- 1882 ). He had three younger brothers, Edward Baker Lincoln ( 1846 -- 1850 ), William Wallace Lincoln ( 1850 -- 1862 ) and Thomas `` Tad '' Lincoln ( 1853 -- 1871 ). By the time Lincoln was born, his father had become a well - known member of the Whig political party and had previously served as a member of the state legislature for four terms. Robert Lincoln was named after his maternal grandfather. By the time his father became president of the United States, Lincoln was the only one of the president 's three children to be largely on his own. He took the Harvard University entrance examination in 1859, but failed fifteen out of the sixteen subjects. He was then enrolled at Phillips Exeter Academy to further prepare for attending college, and he graduated in 1860. Admitted to Harvard College, he graduated in 1864, and was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club and the Delta Kappa Epsilon ( Alpha chapter ). Morris states after gaining admission to Harvard, Robert Lincoln emerged from college an `` unsympathetic bore. '' After graduating from Harvard, Lincoln enrolled at Harvard Law School. When he initially expressed interest in the law school to his father, President Lincoln made reference to his own pleasant, but informal legal training by stating `` If you do, you should learn more than I ever did, but you will never have so good a time. '' Robert Lincoln attended Harvard Law School from September, 1864 to January, 1865, and left in order to join the Union Army. Much to the embarrassment of the president, Mary Todd Lincoln prevented Robert Lincoln from joining the Army until shortly before the war 's conclusion. `` We have lost one son, and his loss is as much as I can bear, without being called upon to make another sacrifice, '' Mary Todd Lincoln insisted to President Lincoln. President Lincoln argued `` our son is not more dear to us than the sons of other people are to their mothers. '' However, Mary Todd Lincoln persisted by stating that she could not `` bear to have Robert exposed to danger. '' In January 1865, the First Lady yielded and President Lincoln wrote Ulysses S. Grant, asking if Robert could be placed on his staff. Robert Todd Lincoln, circa 1860 -- 1870 On February 11, 1865, he was commissioned as an assistant adjutant with the rank of captain and served in the last weeks of the American Civil War as part of General Ulysses S. Grant 's immediate staff, a position which sharply minimized the likelihood that he would be involved in actual combat. He was present at Appomattox when Lee surrendered. He resigned his commission on June 12, 1865, and returned to civilian life. Lincoln had a distant relationship with his father, in part because during his formative years, Abraham Lincoln spent months on the judicial circuit. Their relationship was similar to the one Abraham Lincoln had with his own father. Lincoln recalled, `` During my childhood and early youth he was almost constantly away from home, attending court or making political speeches. '' Robert would later say his most vivid image of his father was of packing saddlebags to prepare for his travels through Illinois. Abraham Lincoln was proud of Robert and thought him bright, but also something of a competitor. An acquaintance purportedly said, `` he guessed Bob would not do better than he had. '' The two lacked the strong bond Lincoln had with his other sons Willie and Tad, but Robert deeply admired his father and wept openly at his deathbed. The night of his father 's death, Robert had turned down an invitation to accompany his parents to Ford 's Theatre, citing fatigue after spending much of his recent time in a covered wagon at the battlefront. On April 25, 1865, Robert Lincoln wrote President Andrew Johnson requesting that he and his family be allowed to stay for two and a half weeks because his mother had told him that `` she can not possibly be ready to leave here ''. Lincoln also acknowledged that he was aware of the `` great inconvenience '' that Johnson had since becoming president of the United States only a short time earlier. Following his father 's assassination, in April 1865 Robert moved with his mother and his brother Tad to Chicago, where Robert completed his law studies at the Old University of Chicago law school ( now the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law ). He was admitted to the bar on February 25, 1867. On January 1, 1866, Lincoln moved out of the apartment he shared with his mother and brother. He rented his own rooms in downtown Chicago to `` begin to live with some degree of comfort '' which he had not known when living with his family. Lincoln was licensed as an attorney in Chicago on February 22, 1867. He was certified to practice law four days later on February 26, 1867. On September 24, 1868, Lincoln married the former Mary Eunice Harlan ( September 25, 1846 -- March 31, 1937 ), daughter of Senator James Harlan and Ann Eliza Peck of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. They had two daughters and one son. Mary `` Mamie '' Lincoln ( October 15, 1869 -- November 21, 1938 ) Abraham Lincoln II ( nicknamed `` Jack '' ) ( August 14, 1873 -- March 5, 1890 ) Jessie Harlan Lincoln ( November 6, 1875 -- January 4, 1948 ) In an era before air conditioning, Robert, Mary and the children would often leave hot city life behind for the cooler climate of Mt. Pleasant. During the 1880s the family would `` summer '' at the Harlan home. The Harlan - Lincoln home, built in 1876, still stands today. Donated by Mary Harlan Lincoln to Iowa Wesleyan College in 1907, it now serves as a museum containing a collection of artifacts from the Lincoln family and from Abraham Lincoln 's presidency. Robert Lincoln 's home in Washington, DC from 1918 until his death in 1926. Robert Todd Lincoln 's mansion Hildene in Manchester, Vermont. Relationship with Mary Todd Lincoln In 1871, tragedy beset the family again when Lincoln 's only surviving brother, Tad, died at the age of 18, leaving his mother devastated with grief. Lincoln, who was already concerned about what he thought were his mother 's `` spend - thrift '' ways and eccentric behavior, and fearing that she was a danger to herself, arranged to have her committed to a psychiatric hospital in Batavia, Illinois in 1875. With his mother in the hospital, he was left with control of her finances. On May 20, 1875, she arrived at Bellevue Place, a private, upscale sanitarium in the Fox River Valley. Three months after being installed in Bellevue Place, Mary Lincoln engineered her escape. She smuggled letters to her lawyer, James B. Bradwell, and his wife, Myra Bradwell, who was not only her friend but also a feminist lawyer and fellow spiritualist. She also wrote to the editor of the Chicago Times, known for its sensational journalism. Soon, the public embarrassments Robert had hoped to avoid were looming, and his character and motives were in question. The director of Bellevue, who at Mary 's commitment trial had assured the jury she would benefit from treatment at his facility, now in the face of potentially damaging publicity declared her well enough to go to Springfield to live with her sister as she desired. The commitment proceedings and following events led to a profound estrangement between Lincoln and his mother, and they never fully reconciled. Politics Secretary of War ( 1881 -- 1885 ) From 1876 to 1877 Lincoln served as Town Supervisor of South Chicago, a town which was later absorbed into the city of Chicago. In 1877 he turned down President Rutherford B. Hayes ' offer to appoint him Assistant Secretary of State, but later accepted an appointment as President James Garfield 's Secretary of War, serving from 1881 to 1885 under Presidents Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. Oscar Dudley During his term in office, the Cincinnati Riots of 1884 broke out over a case in which a jury gave a verdict of manslaughter rather than murder in a case that many suspected was rigged. Forty - five people died during three days of rioting before U.S. troops dispatched by Lincoln reestablished calm. Following his service as Secretary of War, Lincoln helped Oscar Dudley in establishing the Illinois Industrial Training School for Boys in Norwood Park in 1887, after Dudley ( a Humane Society employee ) `` discovered more homeless, neglected and abused boys than dogs on the city streets. '' The school relocated to Glenwood, Illinois in 1890 and most recently changed its name to Glenwood Academy ; it first enrolled girls in 2001. Minister to the court of St. James 's Lincoln served as the U.S. minister to the United Kingdom from 1889 to 1893 under President Benjamin Harrison. Lincoln 's young son, Abraham II `` Jack '', died during this time in Europe. After serving as minister, Lincoln returned to private business as a lawyer. Chief Justice Taft, President Harding and Lincoln at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922. Later Life Lincoln was general counsel of the Pullman Palace Car Company under George Pullman, and was named president after Pullman 's death in 1897. According to Almont Lindsey 's 1942 book, The Pullman Strike, Lincoln arranged to have Pullman quietly excused from the subpoena issued for Pullman to testify in the 1895 trials of the leaders of the American Railway Union for conspiracy during the 1894 Pullman strike. Pullman hid from the deputy marshal sent to his office with the subpoena and then appeared with Lincoln to meet privately with Judge Grosscup after the jury had been dismissed. In 1911, Lincoln became chairman of the board, a position he held until 1922. A serious amateur astronomer, Lincoln constructed an observatory at his home in Manchester, Vermont, and equipped it with a refracting telescope made in 1909 by Warner & Swasey with a six - inch objective lens by John A. Brashear Co., Ltd. Lincoln 's telescope and observatory still exist ; it has been restored and is used by a local astronomy club. Robert Lincoln made his last public appearance at the dedication ceremony in Washington, D.C. for his father 's memorial on May 30, 1922. Lincoln was also a dedicated golfer, and served as president of the Ekwanok Country Club in Manchester. Presence at assassinations Robert Lincoln was coincidentally either present or nearby when three presidential assassinations occurred. Lincoln was not present at his father 's assassination. He was at the White House, and rushed to be with his parents. The president was moved to Petersen House after the shooting, where Robert attended his father 's deathbed. At President James A. Garfield 's invitation, Lincoln was at the Sixth Street Train Station in Washington, D.C., where the president was shot by Charles J. Guiteau on July 2, 1881, and was an eyewitness to the event. Lincoln was serving as Garfield 's Secretary of War at the time. At President William McKinley 's invitation, Lincoln was at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, where the president was shot by Leon Czolgosz on September 6, 1901, though he was not an eyewitness to the event. Lincoln himself recognized these coincidences. He is said to have refused a later presidential invitation with the comment, `` No, I 'm not going, and they 'd better not ask me, because there is a certain fatality about presidential functions when I am present. '' Robert Lincoln and Edwin Booth Robert Lincoln was once saved from possible serious injury or death by Edwin Booth, whose brother, John Wilkes Booth, was the assassin of Robert 's father. The incident took place on a train platform in Jersey City, New Jersey. The exact date of the incident is uncertain, but it is believed to have taken place in late 1863 or early 1864, before John Wilkes Booth 's assassination of President Lincoln ( April 14, 1865 ). Robert Lincoln recalled the incident in a 1909 letter to Richard Watson Gilder, editor of The Century Magazine : The incident occurred while a group of passengers were late at night purchasing their sleeping car places from the conductor who stood on the station platform at the entrance of the car. The platform was about the height of the car floor, and there was of course a narrow space between the platform and the car body. There was some crowding, and I happened to be pressed by it against the car body while waiting my turn. In this situation the train began to move, and by the motion I was twisted off my feet, and had dropped somewhat, with feet downward, into the open space, and was personally helpless, when my coat collar was vigorously seized and I was quickly pulled up and out to a secure footing on the platform. Upon turning to thank my rescuer I saw it was Edwin Booth, whose face was of course well known to me, and I expressed my gratitude to him, and in doing so, called him by name. Months later, while serving as an officer on the staff of General Ulysses S. Grant, Robert Lincoln recalled the incident to his fellow officer, Colonel Adam Badeau, who happened to be a friend of Edwin Booth. Badeau sent a letter to Booth, complimenting the actor for his heroism. Before receiving the letter, Booth had been unaware that the man whose life he had saved on the train platform had been the president 's son. The incident was said to have been of some comfort to Edwin Booth following his brother 's assassination of the president. President Ulysses Grant also sent Booth a letter of gratitude for his action. Republican politics From 1884 to 1912, Lincoln 's name was mentioned in varying degrees of seriousness as a candidate for the Republican presidential or vice-presidential nomination. At every turn, he adamantly disavowed any interest in running and stated he would not accept either position if nominated. Death and legacy Lincoln 's sarcophagus at Arlington National Cemetery Robert Todd Lincoln died in his sleep at Hildene, his Vermont home, on July 26, 1926. He was 82. The cause of death was given by his physician as a `` cerebral hemorrhage induced by arteriosclerosis ''. He was later interred in Arlington National Cemetery in a sarcophagus designed by the sculptor James Earle Fraser. He is buried with his wife Mary and their son Jack, who died in London, England, of blood poisoning at the age of 16. Lincoln was the last surviving member of both the Garfield and Arthur Cabinets, and the last surviving witness to the surrender at Appomattox Court House. Of Robert 's children, Jessie Harlan Lincoln Beckwith ( 1875 -- 1948 ) had two children, Mary Lincoln Beckwith ( `` Peggy '' 1898 -- 1975 ) and Robert ( `` Bud '' ) Todd Lincoln Beckwith ( 1904 -- 1985 ), neither of whom had children of their own. Robert 's other daughter, Mary Todd Lincoln ( `` Mamie '' ) ( 1869 -- 1938 ) married Charles Bradley Isham in 1891. They had one son, Lincoln Isham ( 1892 -- 1971 ). Lincoln Isham married Leahalma Correa in 1919, but died without children. The last person known to be of direct Lincoln lineage, Robert 's grandson `` Bud '' Beckwith, died in 1985. Cultural depictions The former child actor Ken Hardison played Robert Todd Lincoln in the 1955 episode `` How Chance Made Lincoln President '' in the anthology television series, TV Reader 's Digest. Richard Gaines was cast as Abraham Lincoln, and Vivi Janiss as Mary Todd Lincoln. In the 1998 television film The Day Lincoln Was Shot, the adult Robert Lincoln was portrayed by actor Wil Wheaton. In the 2012 film Lincoln, Robert Lincoln was portrayed by Joseph Gordon - Levitt. In 2016, he was portrayed by Canadian actor Neal Bledsoe in the NBC time traveling drama series Timeless. See also United States Army portal American Civil War portal List of people on the cover of Time Magazine : 1920s -- March 8, 1926 Abraham Lincoln 's patent Lincoln family tree References Jump up ^ Emerson, pp. 6 -- 7. Jump up ^ Roberts, p. 63. Jump up ^ Luthin, Reinhard Henry ( 1960 ). The Real Abraham Lincoln : A Complete One Volume History of His Life and Times. Englewood Cliffs : Prentice - Hall. p. 141. Jump up ^ Stevens, Walter Barlow ( 1998 ). A Reporter 's Lincoln. Lincoln, NE : University of Nebraska Press. p. 261. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8032 - 9253 - 6. Jump up ^ Emerson, Jason ( 2012 ). Giant in the Shadows : The Life of Robert T. Lincoln. Carbondale, IL : Southern Illinois University. p. 79. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8093 - 3055 - 3. Jump up ^ Morris, p. 128. Jump up ^ King, Moses ( 1881 ). The Harvard Register, Volume. Cambridge, MA : Harvard College. p. 378. Jump up ^ Burlingame, p. 91. Jump up ^ Bell, William Gardner ( 1981 ). Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army. Ft. McNair, Washington, DC : United States Army Center of Military History. p. 88. ^ Jump up to : Goff, John S. ( 1968 ). Robert Todd Lincoln : A Man in His Own Right. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 68. Jump up ^ Burlingame, pp. 738 -- 739. Jump up ^ Charnwood, p. 444. Jump up ^ Roberts, pp. 87 -- 88. Jump up ^ Emerson, p. 10. Jump up ^ Donald, p. 159 Jump up ^ quoted in Donald, p. 428 Jump up ^ Donald, p. 599 Jump up ^ Ralph Gary, The Presidents Were Here : A State - by - State Historical Guide, 2008, page 43 Jump up ^ Deanna Spingola, The Ruling Elite : A Study in Imperialism, Genocide and Emancipation, 2011, page 556 Jump up ^ Jason Emerson, Giant in the Shadows : The Life of Robert T. Lincoln, 2011, page 100 Jump up ^ Graf, p. 639. Jump up ^ `` Lincoln Chronology ''. National Park Service. Jump up ^ Emerson, p. 121. Jump up ^ Emerson, p. 124. Jump up ^ `` Robert Todd Lincoln entry ''. Notable Names Database ( NNDB ). Jump up ^ Allt, Kate ( 12 February 2013 ). `` Mt. Pleasant ; the second Land of Lincoln ''. KTVO - TV via website. Retrieved 13 February 2013. Jump up ^ Mary Todd Lincoln 's Stay at Bellevue Place. Showcase.netins.net. Retrieved on 2011 - 08 - 06. Jump up ^ `` '' The insanity life `` ''. Archived from the original on September 23, 2008. Retrieved 2008 - 09 - 23., Wellesley Centers for Women 2008 Jump up ^ Goodwin, Doris Kearns ( 2005 - 10 - 25 ). `` Team of Rivals : The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln ''. ISBN 1416549838. Jump up ^ Emerson, Jason ( 2012 ). Giant in the Shadows : The Life of Robert T. Lincoln. Carbondale, IL : Southern Illinois University. pp. 207 -- 209. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8093 - 3055 - 3. Jump up ^ Donovan, Henry. `` Chicago Eagle ''. Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections. Retrieved 1 July 2015. Jump up ^ `` Cincinnati Courthouse Riot ''. Ohio History Central. Ohio Historical Society. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 23. Jump up ^ `` About Us ''. Glenwood Academy. Retrieved April 12, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Schwartz, Thomas F. ( Autumn 2007 ). `` A Death in the Family : Abraham Lincoln II `` Jack '' ( 1873 -- 1890 ) '' ( PDF ). For the People. Abraham Lincoln Association. Retrieved 2008 - 09 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Lincoln 's Son Dies In His Sleep At 82 ''. The New York Times. July 27, 1926. p. 1. Retrieved May 31, 2014. Jump up ^ Lindsey, The Pullman Strike, p. 301. Jump up ^ `` Prominent Alumni ROBERT TODD LINCOLN ' 64 ''. Alpha / Harvard. Jump up ^ Revised List of Telescopes by Warner & Swasey Company as augmented by E.N. Jennison from Records in Engineering Department, Warner & Swasey Corp. Papers, Case Western Reserve University Jump up ^ `` Robert Todd Lincoln Attends Dedication of His Father 's Memorial ( 1922 ) ''. Ghosts of DC. Retrieved 26 January 2012. Jump up ^ `` Interesting People : Robert T. Lincoln ''. The American Magazine. New York, NY : Phillips Publishing Company : 168. December 1, 1909. Jump up ^ Evans, Charles, Jr. ( July 1, 1921 ). `` From Caddie to Champion ''. Golfers Magazine. Chicago, IL : Golfers Magazine Company : 26. Jump up ^ `` Lincoln Bicentennial -- Biography of Robert Todd Lincoln ''. Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 11. CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown ( link ) Jump up ^ NPS Historical Handbook : Ford 's Theatre. Nps.gov ( 2002 - 12 - 02 ). Retrieved on 2011 - 08 - 06. Jump up ^ Corey, Herbert ( December 10, 1921 ). `` Assassin Would Have Failed Had Son Been at Theater with Abraham Lincoln ''. Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection. Retrieved November 12, 2013. Jump up ^ Franscell, Ron ( 2012 ). The Crime Buff 's Guide to Outlaw Washington, DC. Globe Pequot. p. 104. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7627 - 8870 - 5. Retrieved November 12, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Robert Todd Lincoln on Presidential Assassinations, 1881 ''. Shapell Primary Sources. Shapell Manuscript Foundation. Jump up ^ O'Reilly, Bill ; Zimmerman, Dwight Jon ( 2012 ). `` Afterword ''. Lincoln 's Last Days : The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever. Macmillan. p. 245. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8050 - 9676 - 7. Jump up ^ Peters, James Edward. Arlington National Cemetery : Shrine to America 's Heroes ( 2nd ed. ). Woodbine House. p. 126. ISBN 978 - 1 - 890627 - 14 - 0. Jump up ^ Robert Todd Lincoln : A Man In His Own Right by John S. Goff, p. 70 - 71. Jump up ^ Edwin Booth Saved Robert Todd Lincoln 's Life. History Net. Retrieved on 2011 - 08 - 06. Jump up ^ Robert Todd Lincoln : The Perpetual Non-Candidate. Retrieved on 2011 - 08 - 06. Jump up ^ `` Robert Lincoln ''. Abraham Lincoln Research Site. Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 18. Jump up ^ `` Lincoln 's Son Dies In His Sleep At 82. Robert, Last Survivor of the Emancipator 's Family, Found Lifeless in Vermont Home. His Health Had Been Poor. He Left Father 's Papers to the Nation, but Not to Be Examined for 21 Years ''. New York Times. July 27, 1926. Retrieved 2015 - 03 - 18. Robert Todd Lincoln, son and the last survivor of the family of President Lincoln, died peacefully at Hildene, his Summer home, last night. His death was discovered by a servant, who went as usual to call Mr. Lincoln to breakfast. Dr. C.M. Campbell of Manchester Centre, the family physician, declared death due to cerebral hemorrhage induced by arterio - sclerosis. Jump up ^ Robert Todd Lincoln Tomb in Arlington Cemetery. Showcase.netins.net. Retrieved on 2011 - 08 - 06. Jump up ^ Mark E. Neely, Jr., The Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia, McGraw - Hill Book Co., 1982 ( ISBN 0 - 07 - 046145 - 7 ). Jump up ^ `` How Chance Made Lincoln President ''. Internet Movie Data Base. February 7, 1955. Retrieved August 7, 2016. Sources Burlingame, Michael ( 2009 ). Abraham Lincoln : A Life. Johns Hopkins University Press. Charnwood, Lord ( 2009 ). Abraham Lincoln. Cosimo Classics. ISBN 978 - 1605207254. Emerson, Jason ( 2012 ). Giant in the Shadows : The Life of Robert T. Lincoln. Southern Illinois University Press. Graf, Leroy P. ( 1986 ). The Papers of Andrew Johnson, Volume 7 : 1864 -- 1865. Univ Tennessee Press. ISBN 978 - 0870494888. Morris, Jan ( 2001 ). Lincoln : A Foreigner 's Quest. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978 - 0306810329. Roberts, Jeremy ( 2004 ). Abraham Lincoln. Presidential Leaders. Lerner Publishing Group. ISBN 978 - 0822508175. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Todd Lincoln. Robert Todd Lincoln Photographs of Robert Todd Lincoln Original Letters and Manuscripts : Robert Todd Lincoln Shapell Manuscript Foundation Robert Todd Lincoln Rescued from Death by Brother of John Wilkes Booth Robert Todd Lincoln Biography Hildene Glenwood School for Boys & Girls Image of Robert Lincoln from `` 1888 Presidential Possibilities '' card set t207.com Robert Todd Lincoln 's Biography in Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army a publication of the United States Army Center of Military History Robert Todd Lincoln Attends Dedication of His Father 's Memorial ( 1922 ) `` Robert Todd Lincoln ''. Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 01. `` Lincoln, Robert Todd ''. Collier 's New Encyclopedia. 1921. `` Lincoln, Robert Todd ''. The New Student 's Reference Work. 1914. Political offices Preceded by Alexander Ramsey U.S. Secretary of War Served under : James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur 1881 -- 1885 Succeeded by William C. Endicott Diplomatic posts Preceded by Edward J. Phelps U.S. Minister to Great Britain 1889 -- 1893 Succeeded by Thomas F. Bayard United States Secretaries of War and the Army Department of War ( 1789 -- 1949 ) Secretaries of War B. Lincoln Knox Pickering McHenry Dexter Dearborn Eustis Armstrong Monroe W. Crawford Calhoun Barbour P. Porter Eaton Cass Poinsett Bell Spencer J. Porter Wilkins Marcy G. Crawford Conrad J. Davis Floyd Holt S. Cameron Stanton Schofield Rawlins Belknap A. Taft J. Cameron McCrary Ramsey R. Lincoln Endicott Proctor Elkins Lamont Alger Root W. Taft Wright Dickinson Stimson Garrison Baker Weeks D. Davis Good Hurley Dern Woodring Stimson Patterson Royall Assistant Secretaries of War Scott Watson Tucker Wolcott Dana Eckert Grant Doe Meiklejohn Sanger Oliver Breckinridge Ingraham Crowell Williams Wainwright D. Davis MacNider Robbins Hurley Payne Woodring L. Johnson Patterson McCloy Petersen Department of the Army ( 1949 -- present ) Secretaries of the Army Royall Gray Pace Stevens Brucker Stahr Vance Ailes Resor Froehlke Callaway Hoffmann C. Alexander Marsh Stone West Caldera White Harvey Geren McHugh Fanning Under Secretaries of the Army Draper Gray Voorhees A. Alexander Bendetsen E. Johnson Slezak Finucane Milton Ailes Ignatius Resor McGiffert Beal BeLieu Staudt Augustine LaBerge Ambrose Stone Shannon Reeder Walker Rostker Dahlberg Brownlee Geren Ford Westphal Carson Murphy McCarthy Cabinet of President James A. Garfield ( 1881 ) Secretary of State James G. Blaine ( 1881 ) Secretary of the Treasury William Windom ( 1881 ) Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln ( 1881 ) Attorney General Isaac Wayne MacVeagh ( 1881 ) Postmaster General Thomas L. James ( 1881 ) Secretary of the Navy William Henry Hunt ( 1881 ) Secretary of the Interior Samuel J. Kirkwood ( 1881 ) Cabinet of President Chester A. Arthur ( 1881 -- 85 ) Secretary of State James G. Blaine ( 1881 ) Frederick T. Frelinghuysen ( 1881 -- 85 ) Secretary of the Treasury William Windom ( 1881 ) Charles J. Folger ( 1881 -- 84 ) Walter Q. Gresham ( 1884 ) Hugh McCulloch ( 1884 -- 85 ) Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln ( 1881 -- 85 ) Attorney General Isaac Wayne MacVeagh ( 1881 ) Benjamin Harris Brewster ( 1881 -- 85 ) Postmaster General Thomas L. James ( 1881 ) Timothy O. Howe ( 1881 -- 83 ) Walter Q. Gresham ( 1883 -- 84 ) Frank Hatton ( 1884 -- 85 ) Secretary of the Navy William Henry Hunt ( 1881 -- 82 ) William Eaton Chandler ( 1882 -- 85 ) Secretary of the Interior Samuel J. Kirkwood ( 1881 -- 82 ) Henry M. Teller ( 1882 -- 85 ) Ambassadors of the United States of America to the Court of St. James 's Ministers Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James 's 1785 -- 1811 John Adams ( 1785 -- 1788 ) Thomas Pinckney ( 1792 -- 1796 ) Rufus King ( 1796 -- 1803 ) James Monroe ( 1803 -- 1807 ) William Pinkney ( 1808 -- 1811 ) Jonathan Russell ( chargé d'affaires ) ( 1811 -- 1812 ) Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James 's 1815 -- 1893 John Quincy Adams ( 1815 -- 1817 ) Richard Rush ( 1818 -- 1825 ) Rufus King ( 1825 -- 1826 ) Albert Gallatin ( 1826 -- 1827 ) James Barbour ( 1828 -- 1829 ) Louis McLane ( 1829 -- 1831 ) Martin Van Buren ( 1831 -- 1832 ) Aaron Vail ( chargé d'affaires ) ( 1832 -- 1836 ) Andrew Stevenson ( 1836 -- 1841 ) Edward Everett ( 1841 -- 1845 ) Louis McLane ( 1845 -- 1846 ) George Bancroft ( 1846 -- 1849 ) Abbott Lawrence ( 1849 -- 1852 ) Joseph R. Ingersoll ( 1852 -- 1853 ) James Buchanan ( 1853 -- 1856 ) George M. Dallas ( 1856 -- 1861 ) Charles Adams Sr. ( 1861 -- 1868 ) Reverdy Johnson ( 1868 -- 1869 ) John Lothrop Motley ( 1869 -- 1870 ) Robert C. Schenck ( 1871 -- 1876 ) Edwards Pierrepont ( 1876 -- 1877 ) John Welsh ( 1877 -- 1879 ) James Russell Lowell ( 1880 -- 1885 ) Edward J. Phelps ( 1885 -- 1889 ) Robert Todd Lincoln ( 1889 -- 1893 ) Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James 's 1893 -- present Thomas F. Bayard Sr. ( 1893 -- 1897 ) John Hay ( 1897 -- 1898 ) Joseph Choate ( 1899 -- 1905 ) Whitelaw Reid ( 1905 -- 1912 ) Walter Page ( 1913 - 1918 ) John W. Davis ( 1918 -- 1921 ) George Harvey ( 1921 -- 1923 ) Frank B. Kellogg ( 1924 -- 1925 ) Alanson B. Houghton ( 1925 -- 1929 ) Charles G. Dawes ( 1929 -- 1931 ) Andrew W. Mellon ( 1932 -- 1933 ) Robert Bingham ( 1933 -- 1937 ) Joseph P. Kennedy ( 1938 -- 1940 ) John G. Winant ( 1941 -- 1946 ) W. Averell Harriman ( 1946 ) Lewis W. Douglas ( 1947 -- 1950 ) Walter S. Gifford ( 1950 -- 1953 ) Winthrop W. Aldrich ( 1953 -- 1957 ) John Hay Whitney ( 1957 -- 1961 ) David K.E. Bruce ( 1961 -- 1969 ) Walter H. Annenberg ( 1969 -- 1974 ) Elliot L. Richardson ( 1975 -- 1976 ) Anne Armstrong ( 1976 -- 1977 ) Kingman Brewster Jr. ( 1977 -- 1981 ) John J. Louis Jr. ( 1981 -- 1983 ) Charles H. Price II ( 1983 -- 1989 ) Henry E. Catto Jr. ( 1989 -- 1991 ) Raymond G.H. Seitz ( 1991 -- 1994 ) William J. Crowe ( 1994 -- 1997 ) Philip Lader ( 1997 -- 2001 ) William Stamps Farish III ( 2001 -- 2004 ) Robert H. Tuttle ( 2005 -- 2009 ) Louis Susman ( 2009 -- 2013 ) Matthew Barzun ( 2013 -- 2017 ) Woody Johnson ( 2017 -- ) Abraham Lincoln 16th President of the United States ( 1861 -- 1865 ) U.S. Representative from Illinois ( 1847 -- 1849 ) Presidency First inauguration Perpetual Union Lincoln Bible Second inauguration Civil War Confiscation Acts President Lincoln 's 75,000 volunteers War based income tax Seaports blockade RMS Trent Affair Habeas Corpus suspended Emancipation Proclamation West Virginia statehood Overland Campaign strategy Hampton Roads Conference Tour of Richmond Ten percent plan Reconstruction 13th Amendment abolishing slavery Dakota War of 1862 Department of the Northwest Homestead Act of 1862 National Banking Acts Thanksgiving Day Birchard Letter Bixby letter National Academy of Sciences Department of Agriculture Pardons State of the Union Address, 1863 1864 Cabinet Judicial appointments Assassination Funeral and burial Lincoln Catafalque Speeches Lyceum address ( 1838 ) Peoria speech ( 1854 ) `` Lost Speech '' ( 1856 ) House Divided speech ( 1858 ) Lincoln - Douglas debates ( 1858 ) Cooper Union Address ( 1860 ) Farewell Address ( 1861 ) First inaugural address ( 1861 ) Gettysburg Address ( 1863 event ) Second inaugural address ( 1865 ) Life and views Early life and career Black Hawk War Matson Trial Spot Resolutions Boat lifting patent Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Co. Baltimore Plot Lincoln 's beard Medical and mental health Poetry Religious views Sexuality Slavery Homes and places Lincoln Birthplace Knob Creek Farm Lincoln Boyhood Memorial Lincoln State Park Lincoln Trail Homestead State Memorial Lincoln 's New Salem Lincoln Home Lincoln Pioneer Village Little Pigeon Creek Community Cottage at the Soldier 's Home Lincoln Bedroom Lincoln Sitting Room Ford 's Theatre Petersen House Lincoln Tomb Elections Republican National Convention, 1856 1860 1864 National Union Party United States presidential election, 1860 1864 1860 campaign song Legacy Presidential Library and Museum Papers Lincoln / Net Bibliography Lincoln Memorial sculpture reflecting pool Mount Rushmore Lincoln 's Birthday Lincoln, Nebraska statue Abraham Lincoln ( Healy painting ) Abraham Lincoln sculpture, Washington D.C. Abraham Lincoln : The Man statue Lincoln Park Abraham Lincoln : The Head of State statue Lincoln Trail State Memorial Lincoln the Lawyer statue Kentucky statue The Peacemakers painting Lincoln Highway Other memorials Photographs Cultural depictions films postage stamps Lincoln penny Illinois Centennial half dollar currency five - dollar bill art Lincoln Prize Abraham Lincoln Association White House ghost Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln Lincoln -- Kennedy coincidences Aircraft Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Family Family tree Mary Todd Lincoln ( wife ) Robert Todd Lincoln ( son ) Edward Baker Lincoln ( son ) William Wallace Lincoln ( son ) Thomas `` Tad '' Lincoln ( son ) Mary Todd `` Mamie '' Lincoln ( granddaughter ) Abraham Lincoln II ( grandson ) Jessie Lincoln ( granddaughter ) Thomas Lincoln ( father ) Nancy Hanks Lincoln ( mother ) Sarah Bush Lincoln ( stepmother ) Sarah Lincoln Grigsby ( sister ) Abraham Lincoln ( paternal grandfather ) Mordecai Lincoln ( paternal uncle ) Mary Lincoln Crume ( paternal aunt ) John Hanks ( maternal cousin ) Joseph Hanks ( great - grandfather ) Samuel Lincoln ( 17th - century ancestor ) Mary Lincoln Beckwith ( great - granddaughter ) Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith ( great - grandson ) Timothy Lincoln Beckwith ( great - great - grandson ) Old Bob ( horse ) ← James Buchanan Andrew Johnson → Book Outline ( 1880 ← ) United States presidential election, 1884 ( 1888 → ) Republican Party Convention Nominee James G. Blaine VP nominee John A. Logan Candidates Chester A. Arthur George F. Edmunds John A. Logan John Sherman Joseph R. Hawley William T. Sherman Philip Sheridan Robert T. Lincoln Democratic Party Convention Nominee Grover Cleveland VP nominee Thomas A. Hendricks Candidates Thomas F. Bayard Thomas A. Hendricks Allen G. Thurman Samuel J. Randall Joseph E. McDonald Third party and independent candidates Greenback / Anti-Monopoly Nominee Benjamin Butler VP nominee Absolom M. West Candidates Allen G. Thurman James B. Weaver Jesse Harper Prohibition Party Nominee John St. John VP nominee William Daniel National Equal Rights Party Nominee Belva Ann Lockwood VP nominee Marietta Stow Other 1884 elections : House Senate VIAF : 60326336 LCCN : n50051491 ISNI : 0000 0000 2161 6024 GND : 1024820939 BNF : cb16660690q ( data ) BIBSYS : 9053675 IATH : w6445mkd Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Todd_Lincoln&oldid=801271649 '' Categories : 1843 births 1926 deaths 19th - century American diplomats Amateur astronomers Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom American people of English descent Arthur administration cabinet members 19th - century American politicians Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Children of Presidents of the United States Deaths from neurological disease Garfield administration cabinet members Harvard Law School alumni Harvard University alumni Illinois lawyers Illinois Republicans Lincoln family People associated with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln People of Illinois in the American Civil War Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Politicians from Springfield, Illinois Union Army officers United States Secretaries of War People from Manchester, Vermont Hidden categories : CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown Pages using infobox officeholder with ambassador from or minister from Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from Collier 's Encyclopedia Wikipedia articles incorporating citation to the NSRW Wikipedia articles incorporating citation to the NSRW with an wstitle parameter Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Беларуская Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית 日本 語 Norsk Polski Русский Simple English Slovenščina Suomi Svenska Türkçe Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 18 September 2017, at 18 : 23. 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Question: who is the only man known to have witnessed the assassinations of 3 different presidents
Answer: Robert Lincoln was coincidentally either present or nearby when three presidential assassinations occurred