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Lincoln Bicentennial - Chicago Events and Things to Do

Lincoln Turns 200, So to Speak

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Lincoln Bicentennial - Chicago Events and Things to Do

A terra cotta bas-relief of Lincoln hangs in Chicago's Sulzer Library.

Jennifer Roche
Less than a month after Illinoisan Barack Obama put his hand on Abraham Lincoln's bible and swore he would uphold the office of President of the United States, we will celebrate the Bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. Lincoln, of course, was also from Illinois.

Born in Kentucky on February 12, 1809, Lincoln moved to New Salem, IL at the age of twenty-one. By 1846, he was elected to Congress and had moved to Springfield, IL. In 1860, he was elected President of the United States.

Find key Chicago Lincoln Bicentennial events to learn more about this historic figure and celebrate his legacy.

Related: How to Send Abraham Lincoln a Birthday Card | Lincoln's Life in U.S. Stamps

  • Lincoln Life Mask Display - Through March 15
    The Glessner Museum will feature a replica of the life mask made of Abraham Lincoln's face and hands and acquired by John Glessner in 1886.

  • Holding Hands with History – Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Art Exhibit – February 5 through March 13, 2009
    Illinois Artist Laureate Kay Smith painted twenty-two historical watercolors for this exhibit of places that influenced Lincoln. Pritzker Military Library. 610 N. Fairbanks, 2nd floor, Chicago. Free.

  • African American Abolitionists, Abraham Lincoln, and the Road to Freedom - Lecture – Saturday, February 7
    George Mason University professor and former president of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Spencer Crew will give a free lecture at the Newberry Library. 60 W. Walton St. Chicago, IL.

  • Lincoln Treasures at the Chicago History Museum – Opens Thursday, February 12
    The Chicago History Museum shares its Lincoln collection including his pocket watch, desk, piano, the bed where he died, and, from April 1 to May 3, one of the five handwritten copies of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. They'll also officially unveil the United States Postal Service's Abraham Lincoln bicentennial stamps at noon. Also, enjoy one penny admission on Thursday, February 12 through Sunday, February 15.

  • A. Lincoln: A Biography – Author Lecture – Thursday, February 12
    Author Ronald C. White., Jr. will give a free lecture about President Lincoln at the Newberry Library from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Reservations are required. 60 W. Walton St. Chicago, IL. Co-sponsored by the McCormick Freedom Museum.

  • Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite in Honor of Abraham Lincoln’s Bicentennial – Friday, February 13
    Chicago’s Symphony Center will reverberate with a jazz tribute to the late Max Roach and Oscar Brown, Jr. with vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, drummer Lewis Nash, and more.

  • Art Institute Lecture by Harold Holzer – Sunday, February 15
    Prominent Lincoln scholar Holzer gives a lecture on the life of the president. 1 p.m. in Fullerton Hall at the Art Institute of Chicago. Free.

  • Lincoln Bicentennial Tribute - Saturday, February 21 and Tuesday, February 24
    The CSO plays Bennett’s Selections from Bennett’s Abraham Lincoln , Harris’s Gettysburg symphony, Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, and Beethoven’s Symphony Number 5. James Gaffigan conducts and the James Earl Jones narrates.

  • Statewide Lincoln Bicentennial Events Listing
    Find a complete list of statewide Lincoln Bicentennial events.

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