, honors Lincoln. From the collections of the
Rosenberg Library. The earliest known observance of Lincoln's birthday occurred in
Buffalo, New York, in either 1873 or 1874. Julius Francis (d. 1881), a Buffalo druggist, made it his life's mission to honor
the slain president. He repeatedly petitioned
Congress to establish Lincoln's birthday as a
legal holiday. The day is marked by traditional wreath-laying ceremonies at
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in
Hodgenville, Kentucky, and at the
Lincoln Memorial in
Washington, D.C. The latter has been the site of a ceremony ever since the Memorial was dedicated. Since that event in 1922, observances continue to be organized by the
Lincoln Birthday National Commemorative Committee and by the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS). A wreath is laid on behalf of the
President of the United States, a custom also carried out at the grave sites of all deceased U.S. presidents on their birthdays.
Lincoln's tomb is in
Springfield, Illinois. On February 12, 2009, the annual wreath-laying ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial commemorated Lincoln's 200th birthday in grand fashion. An extended ceremony, organized by the
Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (ALBC) and with help from MOLLUS, featured musical performances from four-time Grammy-nominated singer
Michael Feinstein and the
U.S. Marine Corps Band. The morning celebration also featured remarks by Illinois Sen.
Dick Durbin; Lincoln scholar and ALBC Co-chair
Harold Holzer; recently retired
Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice – and ALBC Commissioner –
Frank J. Williams; and author
Nikki Giovanni reciting her newest work, which was written especially for the
Bicentennial. organizations hold Lincoln's Birthday celebrations because Lincoln was the first Republican president. As part of Lincoln's birthday bicentennial, the U.S. Mint released four new
Lincoln cents. The
commemorative coins have new designs on the
reverse showing stages of his life. The first went into
circulation on September 12, 2009. The standard portrait of Lincoln's head remains on the front. The new designs include a
log cabin representing his birthplace, Lincoln as a young man reading while sitting on a log that he was taking a break from splitting, Lincoln as a state legislator in front of the
Illinois Capitol, and the
partially built dome of the
U.S. Capitol.
New Jersey started observing the holiday on May 23, 2008, with the enactment of the Public Employee Pension and Benefits Reform Act of 2008.
Origin of Black History Month Black History Month has its origin in 19th-century celebrations of Lincoln's Birthday by
African-American communities in the United States. By the early 20th century, black communities were annually celebrating Lincoln's birthday in conjunction with the birthday of former slave and abolitionist
Frederick Douglass on February 14. The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 when historian
Carter G. Woodson and the
Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced that the second week of February would be "Negro History Week" to coincide with the traditional Black commemorations of both men's birthdays. By the 1970s, "Negro History Week" had become "Black History Month". Black History Month has expanded further to
Canada, where it is also celebrated in February, and to the
United Kingdom, which celebrates it in October. ==Official government holidays==