28. The sixteenth President of the USA, this gentle giant of a man suffered from unbearable shyness in the company of strangers, especially around women. Who was he?
From Quiz Shy, Not Retiring
Answer:
Abraham Lincoln
He led his country through a great crisis, he ended the barbaric practice of slavery, and he forged the way for the country's modernisation of its economy. Yet Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), about whom so much has been written and discussed, suffered from an almost crippling shyness all his life. He came from a poor background, born into a family who all lived, at one stage, in a one room log cabin in Kentucky. To make matters worse, his family's religious background frowned heavily on the practices of dancing and drinking alcohol, so Lincoln didn't even have that outlet to help ease his way into the social world. Furthermore, his formal schooling consisted of only one year, and this from itinerant teachers only. Added to this, he was tall, ungainly, sombre of nature, and had no particular knowledge of good dress.
Yet this amazing man became an avid reader, educated himself, and through sheer hard work, study and determination, rose to the greatest position in the land. These abilities didn't include skill with the ladies however. He was usually especially awkward and tongue-tied around them. He did try but his first love died before they could get to the altar. His second love, with his hearty endorsement, decided to call the wedding off. And he was full of the deepest gloom when his third relationship managed to make it to the altar. He told a friend on that joyous day that he thought he was going to hell. Their marriage was reasonably happy though, even if Mary Lincoln did bash him on the head once with a piece of wood. However, following the early deaths of three of their sons, Lincoln fell into the deepest depression. He pulled through this after a time. The amazing thing about him was that, in spite of the shyness that plagued him all his life, he was an incredibly skilled politician and could speak fluently and powerfully to vast crowds of perfect strangers. My favourite story about Abraham Lincoln was the time he visited a group of injured soldiers during the great struggle between the north and south. Reaching down to one young lad lying exhausted and spent in his bed, Lincoln patted him gently on the head. Then, with his eyes filling with tears, he murmured, "Poor lad, poor lad".