The bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth on February 12, 1809, is being celebrated throughout the year 2009. Born in Kentucky and raised in Indiana, Lincoln was a rail-splitter, storekeeper, soldier, Illinois state legislator, lawyer, and United States representative before his election as president in 1860. After guiding the Union to victory in the American Civil War and being re-elected for a second term, he was assassinated on April 14, 1865.
The bicentennial commemoration will include education programs, public forums, and arts projects. For additional information, see http://www.lincolnbicentennial.gov/.
The best-known object in the Capitol associated with Abraham Lincoln is the historic catafalque, which was hastily constructed to support the casket in which his remains lay in state in the Rotunda; it has been used for numerous subsequent lyings in state and is now on display in the Exhibition Hall of the Capitol Visitor Center. Other works of art and objects in the Capitol and congressional collections related to Lincoln are illustrated and listed below.