Abraham Lincoln: 5 facts
He led the United States through its Civil War and was famously assassinated in April 1865. But how much do you know about Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States?
You might be surprised to learn...
... Lincoln was the tallest American president to date, standing at 6ft 4". Among his presidential rivals in height are Lyndon Baines Johnson (6ft 3") and Thomas Jefferson (6ft 2½"). Current president, Barack Obama, is 6ft 1".
... Lincoln is the only president to have a patent. The patent was for a Lincoln-devised device for freeing ships that had run aground in shallow water. Lincoln received the patent (number 6469) in 1849.
... his eventual assassin wasn't unknown to him. Lincoln watched John Wilkes Booth perform in The Marble Heart at Ford's Theatre in November 1863.
... Lincoln's coffin has been moved 17 times and opened five times. What's more, in 1876 grave robbers tried to steal his remains.
... he was the first president to receive a transcontinental telegraph message. The message was wired to the president in Washington by California's chief justice, Stephen J Field, on 24 October 1861. It congratulated Lincoln on the transcontinental telegraph's completion that day.
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