Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was born on February 12, 1809, in a one-room log cabin in Kentucky. Several states still observe his birthday, and it anchors the February stretch of presidential remembrance alongside Washington's.
Lincoln led the country through the Civil War, issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and delivered the Gettysburg Address — 272 words that redefined the nation. His birthday was widely observed within years of his death in 1865.
Lincoln's Birthday is a legal holiday or observance in states including Illinois — the Land of Lincoln — as well as Connecticut, Missouri and New York. Nationally, he's honored together with Washington around Presidents' Day each February.