Born Feb. 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln preserved the Union during the Civil War, ending slavery and establishing the national banking system, the first personal income tax, and the first paper money. He settled in Illinois in 1830, served briefly in the Black Hawk War in 1832, and visited Rockford in 1855 to successfully argue a patent lawsuit against Cyrus McCormick. He is the only President to hold a patent, granted for a device to lift boats over river obstructions. He served in the Illinois state legislature and represented Illinois in Congress.