Abraham Lincoln Timeline

  • Samuel Lincoln from Hingham, England, settles in Hingham, Massachusetts.

  • Birth of Abraham Lincoln

  • Abraham's brother is born but dies 3 days later

  • December, The Lincoln family moves across the Ohio River to the Little Pigeon Creek near present-day Gentryville, Indiana.

  • Lincoln earns her first dollar, ferry passengers to steamboats on the Ohio River

  • Lincoln’s sister, Sarah Lincoln Grigsby, dies while giving birth.

  • In March, Lincoln announces his candidacy for the Illinois General Assembly, running on a platform for improved navigation on the Sangamon River, changes in usury laws, and universal education.

  • Lincoln runs for public office again and on August 4, at the age of 24, is elected to the Illinois General Assembly as a member of the Whig Party. In the summer, he begins to study law, using books borrowed from John Todd Stuart.

  • Lincoln does not seek re-election to the Illinois General Assembly. In September, he accepts a challenge to a duel by Democratic state auditor James Shields but the duel is averted. Over the summer, Lincoln and Mary Todd resume their marrage

  • On March 10, Mary gives birth to their second son, Edward "Eddie" Baker Lincoln. On May 1, Lincoln is nominated to be the Whig candidate for U.S. Congress

  • On January 17, Lincoln’s father, Thomas, dies from a kidney ailment at the age of 73 in Coles County, Illinois. Lincoln does not attend the funeral.

  • Lincoln helps organize the new Republican Party of Illinois and in May at the first Republican convention, Lincoln gets 110 votes for the vice-presidential nomination—he gains national attention but loses the nomination to William Lewis Dayton.

  • On February 27, 1860, Lincoln delivers the Cooper Union Address. In March, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates are published. On May 18, Lincoln is nominated for President at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, Illinois

  • February 11, Lincoln gives a farewell speech to friends and supports in Springfield and after leaves by train with Mary Todd and Tad. Lincoln delivers his First Inaugural Address during inauguration on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building.

  • Confederate artillery opens fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.

  • President Lincoln calls for 75,000 soldiers volunteer to serve for the Union Army.

  • Lincoln delivered a famous speech known as The Gettysburg Address. This occurred on November 19th on the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

  • Death

  • Robert E. Lee surrenders his army to Grant, Celebrations begin in Washington D.C.