L is for Lincoln

 

Robert Todd Lincoln

                                                                Years Lived Before 1921: Seventy-Eight

                                                                Years Lived After 1921: Five

Robert Lincoln was the first child of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln and the only one who survived past the age of 18. He served as secretary of War under James Garfield and then Chester A. Artur after Garfield's assassination.  In 1889 Lincoln became the U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom. He was the last U.S. minister to the U.K. His predecessor was the first U.S. ambassador to the U.K. Lincoln served 15 years as president of the Pullman Car Company after the death of George Pullman.

Lincoln was 21 when his father was assassinated and was present when his father died.  In his role as Garfield's Secretary of war he was a witness to Garfield's assassination. In 1901 Lincoln was in Buffalo attending the Pan-American exposition as part of his duties as President of Pullman when he witnessed the assassination of William McKinley.