Unusual Abraham Lincoln Facts

Strange and Unusual Facts You Don't Know About President Lincoln

By PHILLIP TOBIAS, published Feb 18, 2008
Published Content: 26  Total Views: 18,012  Favorited By: 22 CPs
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Much has been written about our 16th President Abraham Lincoln. Here are some facts and theories you might not know.

Abraham Lincoln's mother Nancy died from "milk sickness" in 1818. Abraham Lincoln was only nine years old when his mother died. "Milk sickness" was caused by the consumption of milk contaminated by the toxin Tremetol. This toxin is found in the White Snakeroot plant. Cows would often graze on the White Snakeroot plant passing the toxin to humans. "Milk sickness" killed thousands of settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries. In many cases over half the population of a community died.

Abraham Lincoln is the only American President to hold a patent. Abraham Lincoln had a fascination with machines and often took them apart to study. Patent number 6469 was issued on May 22, 1849. Lincoln's invention was for "A Device for Buoying Vessels Over Shoals" according to his patent application. It proved impractical and was never used.

The Gettysburg Address was not Abraham Lincoln's best speech. On May 29, 1856 Abraham Lincoln spoke in front of the Illinois Republican Convention in Bloomington, IL. Present were over 40 reporters and at least a thousand people. Those in attendance were so memorized no one took notes during his 90 minute speech and no exact account of this "Lost Speech" exists! Another theory is Abraham Lincoln's speech was so inflammatory that despite its brilliance the newspapers refused to print it.

John Wilkes Booth's older brother saved the life of Abraham Lincoln's son Robert! In a strange coincidence, Edwin Booth around 1863 or 1864 in Jersey City, NJ saved Robert Lincoln's life. A crowd of people were waiting for a sleeping car late at night when Robert was pressed against the train. When the train began to move he lost his footing and fell into the space between the train and the platform. Edwin Booth quickly pulled him to safety. Edwin Booth was considered the finest actor of his generation and was very well known. Historians doubt Robert Lincoln ever told his parents of this incident.

Unusual Abraham Lincoln Facts
Unusual Abraham Lincoln Facts

Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

Credit: www.sxc.hu/GeoPappas

Copyright: www.sxc.hu

Takeaways
  • Abraham Lincoln's body was almost stolen.
  • Abraham Lincoln's best speech is lost.
  • Edwin Booth saved the life of Abraham Lincoln's son.
Did You Know?
Milk pasteurization does not remove the toxin Tremetol from milk if it present. However, today since the milk of several cows from several farms are pooled the toxin is diluted to a safe amount and cases are rare.
Comments
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hi

Posted on 07/04/2008 at 3:07:08 PM

 
Interesting facts, I only knew about the Gettysburg address one.

Posted on 06/18/2008 at 5:06:28 PM

 
be more specific next time

Posted on 05/09/2008 at 11:05:28 AM

 
yo what up

Posted on 05/08/2008 at 2:05:29 PM

 
yo

Posted on 05/08/2008 at 2:05:58 PM

 
i am a grandmaa 99 years old

Posted on 05/07/2008 at 8:05:52 AM

 
i will win right away

Posted on 05/07/2008 at 8:05:27 AM

 
i am the best president ever HaHa????

Posted on 05/07/2008 at 8:05:20 AM

 
Since I just submitted an article on President Lincoln, I had to see what YOU said about him. He was an interesting man, don't you think? Good article!

Posted on 03/22/2008 at 4:03:50 PM

 
Very interesting article especially srtuck with the Edwin Booth incident.

Posted on 03/18/2008 at 8:03:03 PM

 
!@$%&$%&($^(%#@!%*)(*&^%$#@!&&*(%#$^@$%&@$&@$%&^#$&#%^*$%&*$(&^($&@%$^@_$&+$_%&+$_&%+_^&@+$%_&+$%_&+$%_&+_$@+&^_+!_+_!+_!+!_!_!!!!+!+!+$+^_^_#+%^)*#%)*__++_&+@_+&@)+^%*)&$)&@)$*($(@(*)&&_#%)&@%$(&@)%7)%&@$)%&+%&)+$@)+$%)@+)&@+)%$+&)+&(#(^(&*(#@(^)$)^(&@$%(&+%+%+%+%%+%+%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Posted on 03/14/2008 at 7:03:21 PM

 
MERRY X-MASS>!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted on 03/14/2008 at 7:03:30 PM

 
OMG!!!!!!..... I thought Ab Linclon was our 23th president..... hahahahahhahahahahaaaa!@#$@#^%&**

Posted on 03/14/2008 at 7:03:08 PM

 
Fascinating!

Posted on 02/28/2008 at 10:02:58 PM

 
Wow, things that I did not know about our 16th president.

Posted on 02/28/2008 at 10:02:24 PM

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