Did you know that Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest wrestlers that USA ever had?
If you were asked to list a handful of facts about Abraham Lincoln, the United State of America’s 16th President, we are sure you would be quick to deliver. His astounding height, his signature beard, his stovepipe hat, and that he’s on the US penny and the five-dollar bill are few things that are known to all. But one part of the Lincoln story that you may not know is that he was one of the greatest wrestlers the nation had.
A President who won many wrestling matches
With a height of 6’4”, Abraham Lincoln competed in wrestling matches for more than a decade of his youth and rarely lost. As a 21-year-old in 1830, he was the wrestling champion of his county in Illinois.
At this time, while working at a store in Illinois, Lincoln had a famous bout with Jack Armstrong, a county wrestling champion. Lincoln won decisively when, after losing his temper, Armstrong began fouling him. This is when Lincoln slammed Armstrong to the ground and knocked him out. Then, after two years, while serving as a captain in the Illinois Volunteers, he lost his only recorded match to a soldier in another unit by fall.
Although we don’t know if this was truly the only match he lost in hundreds of fights, we do know that most wrestling matches ended with Lincoln as the victor. People also say that many of these stories were retold as Lincoln was running for president. So, it is likely that many of these stories could have been presented in a more favourable light. Lincoln held the position of the US President from 1861 to 1865 and his wrestling abilities were formally recognised by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, which inducted him as an “Outstanding American” in the sport in 1992.
The only US President to hold a patent
Do you know he was the also the only US President to make an invention and get a patent? The story goes like this: On two occasions, the boat on which Lincoln was travelling got stuck up in obstructions. This prompted Lincoln to think about ways to lift vessels over river obstructions and shoals. So, he thought of a system that could help a stuck ship and came up with one which would inflate the air chambers at the bottom of the vessel, thus raising it above the water surface. Lincoln got the patent of this invention in 1849.
Other notable achievements
Lincoln is famously known for his two achievements among others while he was the president. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation which started the procedure for freeing slaves or abolishing slavery in America. He is also credited with creating the US National Banking System and establishing a national currency.