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Rank 13—No changeEditor’s pick
#13 in Historical Figures
of 16 ranked entries
Abraham Lincoln
1809 – 1865 · United States
Led the Union through the Civil War and signed the Emancipation Proclamation, then backed the Thirteenth Amendment ending legal slavery in the United States, before being assassinated five days after the Confederacy’s surrender. His preservation of the Union shaped the entire subsequent trajectory of American federal power. Recorded specifics: born 1809, domain Politics, region USA. Panel highlighted preserved the United States as a single federal union through its most severe internal crisis, emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment ended the legal institution of slavery in the US and assassination five days after the war’s end cemented a lasting national symbol of martyred leadership. The reservation on record is his own early public position on abolition was more gradual and politically cautious than popular memory now suggests.
Military & political leaderRights & independence leader
Score breakdown
How Abraham Lincoln earned 76.9
Each criterion is scored independently, then combined using the weights published on Historical Figures.
- Breadth of influenceweight 30%
- 76.3
- Durability of legacyweight 25%
- 74.9
- Verifiability of the recordweight 20%
- 79.2
- Intentional world-shapingweight 25%
- 77.8
On the record
Recorded detail
| Born | 1809 |
|---|---|
| Domain | Politics |
| Region | USA |
| Rating | 8.7 |
Panel verdict
Strengths and reservations
What it gets right
- Preserved the United States as a single federal union through its most severe internal crisis
- Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment ended the legal institution of slavery in the US
- Assassination five days after the war’s end cemented a lasting national symbol of martyred leadership
Where it gives ground
- His own early public position on abolition was more gradual and politically cautious than popular memory now suggests
1 appearance
Where this entry ranks
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1818 – 1883 · Germany / England
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