Happy Birthday, President Lincoln

Today marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of self-educated lawyer and President Abraham Lincoln.

The current ABA Journal focuses on Lincoln, including articles about his writing, his style at trial, his pre-presidency experience, and a reading list.

Closer to home, those interested in Lincolniana should not miss the Harvard’s Lincoln exhibit at the Houghton Library. The exhibit contains a variety of papers, letters, images, books, and other materials closely related with Lincoln.

One amusing item at the exhibit: a photo of Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln, Harvard College class of 1864, with his companions of the Harvard Smoking Club. He was both privately and publicly reprimanded for smoking in Harvard Yard, though there is, alas, no record of his father’s reaction to being informed about this transgression. The younger Lincoln would go on to study at Harvard Law School for a semester before dropping out and joining General Grant’s staff for a short time at the end of the Civil War.

Photo: Reverse Macro – Penny Abraham Lincoln by Odaleigh on Flickr

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