Lincoln's Birthday

Lincoln's Birthday, observed February 12th, marks the birth of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, born in a log cabin in Kentucky in 1809. Lincoln led the nation through the Civil War, worked to abolish slavery through the 13th Amendment, and delivered some of the most famous speeches in American history, including the Gettysburg Address, before being assassinated in April 1865, just weeks after the war's end. For much of the late 19th and 20th centuries, several U.S. states observed Lincoln's Birthday as its own separate legal holiday, distinct from Washington's Birthday, which honored the first president, George Washington, born February 22nd. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971 consolidated the federal Washington's Birthday observance onto the third Monday of February, a change that led many Americans to informally treat the resulting holiday as "Presidents Day," honoring both Lincoln and Washington, or the presidency more broadly, even though Lincoln's Birthday was never itself a federal holiday. A handful of states, including Illinois, where Lincoln spent most of his adult life and political career, continue to formally observe February 12th as a distinct state holiday or day of recognition. On Lincoln's Birthday, people mark the occasion with wreath-layings at Lincoln memorials, educational programs, and reflections on his legacy.