5 Rare Facts About Abraham Lincoln
By February 10, 2022
He Was The First (And Only) President To Hold A Patent
Lincoln's fascination with all types of machinery started at a young age, as his father, Thomas, tinkered with machines as a part of his carpentry trade, but his own stroke of brilliance occurred while serving on the U.S. House of Representatives, when he rode on a steamboat that got stuck in a sandbar. Watching the great effort it took to get the ship out, he came up with an idea for an invention that would help. He made a small-scale model of the machine and got it patented, but a full-scale model was never developed.
He Just Missed The Secret Service
Lincoln had a hard time staying safe as president, narrowly escaping two kidnapping plots only to be assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865 while attending a play at the Ford Theater. That night, his inept bodyguard, policeman John Frederick Parker, decided to skip out on his duty during intermission, giving Booth easy access to the president's box. Strangely enough, the bill to create the Secret Service was on Lincoln's desk the very night he was killed. At the time, however, all the Secret Service was meant to do was to catch counterfeiters. It took two more presidential assassinations for the Secret Service to become the noble organization it is today.
He's In The Wrestling Hall Of Fame
It may be shocking, giving his gangly frame, but in his youth, Lincoln was an avid and accomplished wrestler, losing only one fight in his decade-long dalliance with the sport. Reportedly, when he moved to New Salem, Illinois at the age of 22, he was singled out for his love of books and got pushed around by some of the more rugged guys in town. Having had enough, Lincoln picked out the toughest of the group and agreed to a wrestling match. Accounts vary as to whether Lincoln won or the match ended in a stalemate, but either way, his brawn earned the group's respect and he was not only accepted but celebrated in the town thereafter. In 1992, the Wrestling Hall of Fame inducted Lincoln under the "Outstanding American" category.
He Has No Living Descendants
It's hard to imagine that a man who fathered four children has no living descendants, but three of his four sons died early in life. His only son to survive childhood, Robert Todd Lincoln, had three children and several grandchildren, but by the late 20th century, every branch of the family tree had died off. Lincoln's last known descendant, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, died childless in 1985.
