Today in American history…Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 at Sinking Spring Farm (which is located in Hodgenville, Kentucky).

He is truly my personal favorite President because I’ve always admired his strength and tenacity to succeed. Coming from humble beginnings and born in a log cabin in destitute surroundings, he taught himself at a young age to read and write.

When asked about his youth by John L. Scripps in 1859, Abraham Lincoln quoted a line from Gray’s Elergy: “’The short and simple annals of the poor’ That’s my life and that’s all you or any one else can make of it.”

He would eventually become a popular lawyer, served a term as a U.S. Representative from Illinois (1847-1849) and then served as our 16th US President (1861-1865).