1816: His family was forced out of their home. He worked hard to help support them.
1818: His mother died when he was only nine years old. This was especially tough on a struggling farm family.
1831: Lost his job in a general store when his boss ran it into the ground financially.
1832: Ran for state legislature – lost.
1832: Wanted to go to law school but circumstances were such that he had to learn law on his own by reading law books and observing court sessions.
1833: Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next several years of his life paying off this debt and that of his partner.
1834: Ran for state legislature again – won.
1835: Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
1836: Experienced great sadness after his fiancé's death and struggled for a while.
1837: Illinois Supreme Court licenses Lincoln to practice law after studying for years on his own.
1838: Sought to become speaker of the state legislature – defeated.
1840: Sought to become elector – defeated.
1843: Failed to win his party's nomination at the Whig district convention.
1846: Ran for Congress again – this time he won – went to Washington and did a good job.
1848: Wanted to run for Congress again, but told to sit out one term and wait.
1849: Sought the job of land officer in his home state – rejected.
1854: Ran for Senate of the U.S. – lost as he did not have the requisite majority.
1856: Received Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention – got less than 100 votes.
1858: Republicans' choice for U.S. Senate – lost.
1860: Elected president of the United States.
1864: Re-elected president of the United States.
