Presidential Child. He was the 4th and youngest son of the 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. He was nicknamed "Tad" by his father, who found him "as wriggly as a tadpole" when he was a baby. He was born with a form of cleft lip and palate that caused him speech problems throughout his life. It contributed to uneven teeth so that he had difficulty chewing his food and had to have his meals specially prepared. He had a lisp and delivered his words rapidly and unintelligibly. An impulsive, unrestrained child, he did not attend school, and his many tutors in the White House usually quit in frustration. He had free run of the White House and would frequently interrupt meetings, collect animals, and charge visitors to see his father. In February 1862, he and older brother Willie came down with typhoid fever; Willie succumbed, but Tad managed to recover. After his father's assassination in April 1865, his oldest brother Robert took him and his mother to live in Chicago, Illinois, where he attended the Elizabeth Street School. In 1868, he and his mother left Chicago and lived in Germany and England for almost three years. After returning to Chicago, he died at the age of 18 at the Clifton House Hotel. The cause of death has been variously referred to as tuberculosis, a pleuristic attack, pneumonia, or congestive heart failure. His remains were interred at the Lincoln Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery with his father and two of his brothers.

Presidential Child. He was the 4th and youngest son of the 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. He was nicknamed "Tad" by his father, who found him "as wriggly as a tadpole" when he was a baby. He was born with a form of cleft lip and palate that caused him speech problems throughout his life. It contributed to uneven teeth so that he had difficulty chewing his food and had to have his meals specially prepared. He had a lisp and delivered his words rapidly and unintelligibly. An impulsive, unrestrained child, he did not attend school, and his many tutors in the White House usually quit in frustration. He had free run of the White House and would frequently interrupt meetings, collect animals, and charge visitors to see his father. In February 1862, he and older brother Willie came down with typhoid fever; Willie succumbed, but Tad managed to recover. After his father's assassination in April 1865, his oldest brother Robert took him and his mother to live in Chicago, Illinois, where he attended the Elizabeth Street School. In 1868, he and his mother left Chicago and lived in Germany and England for almost three years. After returning to Chicago, he died at the age of 18 at the Clifton House Hotel. The cause of death has been variously referred to as tuberculosis, a pleuristic attack, pneumonia, or congestive heart failure. His remains were interred at the Lincoln Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery with his father and two of his brothers.

Bio by: William Bjornstad