Abraham Lincoln is one of the most recognizable Presidents in United States history. He stood at an impressive (and lanky) 6’4″, making him the tallest to occupy the Oval Office.
Lincoln was born in Kentucky, but was raised in southwestern Indiana. His political career began in Illinois, and his Midwestern sensibility helped him during his presidential run in 1860.
And it was during a presidential campaign trip to New York City in February 1860 that Lincoln would adopt his most signature look: his stovepipe hat, which upped his Midwest fashion game. In a video shared by NYC content creator Johnny Murtaugh, he explains the story behind how Lincoln adopted his iconic hat.
Lincoln’s 1860 visit to NYC
In February 1860, Lincoln traveled to New York City during his presidential run. Lincoln was set to give a major speech at the Cooper Institute, and when he got to town he felt the need to up his fashion game for NYC’s elite.
“Lincoln bought the hat in New York City at a store called Knox the Hatter, where the Fulton subway station stands today,” Murtaugh says. And according to Smithsonian Magazine, it was also called Knox Great Hat and Cap, which was located at 212 Broadway.
“Lincoln was a simple man from a small town in the Midwest, and he dressed like one,” adds Murtaugh, who notes that when Lincoln got to New York City, he realized his wardrobe may not be up to par with the city’s “wealthy and sophisticated people. And he had to step it up.”
Although Lincoln already had a suit and boots (which allegedly fit poorly), he needed a new top hat. Lincoln’s biographer Harold Holzer told Smithsonian Magazine that the accessory would “at least he would look taller than any man in the city.”
In today’s terms, Murtaugh explains that Lincoln wanted to buy the biggest hat to “overcompensate” because he “didn’t feel bougie enough to be in New York City.”
Lincoln’s top hat had many uses
Lincoln’s tall stovepipe hat would go on to become part of his persona. He also had many other practical uses for it.
Holzer explained, “Hats were important to Lincoln: They protected him against inclement weather, served as storage bins for important papers he stuck inside their lining, and further accentuated his great height advantage over other men.”
His top hat helped prove an assassination attempt on Lincoln in August 1864. He had been riding alone on horseback on his way to his summer cottage at Soldiers’ Home, when a sniper shot through his hat and fell off. Soldiers who found the hat confirmed a bullet had gone through it.
Lincoln was also wearing another one of his beloved top hats on the night he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in the Ford Theatre on April 14, 1865. He was wearing a size 7-1/8 made by Washington hat maker J. Y. Davis. The hat had an additional black silk mourning band added to it, a touching remembrance of Lincoln’s son Willie who died in 1862.
