Abraham Lincoln (/ˈlɪŋkən/; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American statesman and lawyer who served as the 16th president of the United States (1861–1865). He preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the U.S. economy. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, the second child of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a one-room log cabin on Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky. Thomas then worked at odd jobs in Kentucky and Tennessee before the family settled in Hardin County, Kentucky in the early 1800s. In 1840, Lincoln became engaged to Mary Todd, a daughter of Robert Smith Todd, a wealthy slave owner in Lexington, Kentucky. They met in Springfield, Illinois, in December 1839 and were engaged a year later.
1809
1809