ABE: Feb. 12 is a big day in Abraham Lincoln history, according to the Associated Press, which reported that on this day:

• On Feb. 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in a log cabin in Hardin (now LaRue) County, Kentucky.

• In 1914, groundbreaking took place for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. (A year later on this date, the cornerstone was laid.)

• In 1959, the redesigned Lincoln penny — with an image of the Lincoln Memorial replacing two ears of wheat on the reverse side — went into circulation.

Lincoln would be 209 this year. Imagine how different the United States would look like to him today.

To honor the man who served the country during the Civil War, we wanted to share some tidbits of his life, courtesy of Factslides, Constitution Daily and the History Channel.

• Lincoln practiced law, but he did not have a formal law degree. He only had about 18 months of schooling in the field of law.

• The president disliked being called “Abe.” He preferred being called by his last name instead.

• Lincoln was an accomplished wrestler as a young man. His wrestling proclivity helped secure him a place in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

• Lincoln was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, becoming the first elected president to be born outside of the original 13 states.

• In addition to being a wrestler, a patent-holder and a president, Lincoln also was a licensed bartender. Before his presidency, he owned a business called the Berry and Lincoln General Store and Tavern in New Salem, Ill.

• Lincoln was an animal lover and was not known to actively hunt or fish. He had a dog named “Fido” and a cat named “Tabby.”

• Paving the way for future beard-lovers, Lincoln was the first president with a beard. An 11-year-old girl named Grace Bedell convinced Lincoln to grow his whiskers in exchange for her brothers’ votes.

• John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln’s assassin, was a famous actor who had a fan in Lincoln himself. The president actually was photographed with Booth during his second inauguration. Interestingly enough, a few months before Booth assassinated Lincoln, the president’s oldest son was saved from injury by John Wilkes Booth’s brother on a train platform in New Jersey.

• Abraham Lincoln was supposed to attend Ford’s Theater with Ulysses S. Grant, but Grant cancelled at the last second.