Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was born on February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville, Kentucky. Largely self-taught, he passed the Illinois Bar and began his career as a lawyer in Springfield, Illinois under the tutelage of his wife’s cousin, John T. Stuart. Before and after his terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Lincoln and his partner had a successful law practice in Springfield, and it was in this town that he married and had four children.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President on November 6, 1860 and led the country through the Civil War. On April 14, 1865, he was assassinated by a Confederate sympathizer in a Washington, D.C. theater, and his body was brought home by train to Springfield at the request of his wife. Lincoln’s Tomb is in Oakridge Cemetery and is open to visitors year-round.

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