Centre marks 200th birthday of Centre alum who influenced Lincoln

RELEASED: November 8, 2007

DANVILLE, KY—Centre is preparing to mark the 200th birthday of one of its most influential alums: John Todd Stuart, Class of 1826, who set Abraham Lincoln on the road to extraordinary success. Stuart was born on Nov. 10, 1807.

In 1832, Lincoln had limited career prospects. It was Stuart who persuaded Lincoln—at the time when Lincoln was considering a career as a blacksmith—that he needed to study the law. When Lincoln protested that he had no law books to study, Stuart loaned his good friend a set, according to an autobiographical sketch Lincoln wrote in 1860.

Lincoln passed the exam and was admitted to the bar in 1837. Stuart became Lincoln's first law partner in Springfield, Ill., and they remained partners for five years. And it was Stuart who taught Lincoln the ins and outs of politics.

The Kentucky natives first met in 1832 when they fought in the same battalion during the Black Hawk War. After their military service, both ran for the Illinois General Assembly, with only Stuart winning a seat that year. Two years later, Lincoln joined Stuart in the state legislature.

Lincoln married Stuart's cousin, Mary Todd of Lexington, Ky., in 1842. Stuart and Lincoln remained close friends until Lincoln's death in 1865. Stuart later headed the National Lincoln Monument Association, which built a monument to the fallen president in Springfield, Ill.

In honor of Stuart's positive influence on Lincoln, a ceremony for the naming of Stuart Hall was recently held on campus. During the proceedings, the Kentucky Historical Society unveiled a historical highway marker honoring Stuart, which is located in front of Stuart Hall.

?Photo of Lincoln from the Library of Congress. Photo of Stuart courtesy of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.