William Wallace Lincoln (1850 - 1862)

Refresh this page to see various historical events that occurred during William's lifetime.

In 1850, in the year that William Wallace Lincoln was born, on April 4th, the city of Los Angeles - now the 2nd most populous city in the US - was incorporated. On April 15th, the city of San Francisco - now the 15h most populous city in the US - was incorporated. Both cities were incorporated before California became a state.

In 1860, at the age of merely 10 years old, William was alive when on December 20th, South Carolina seceded from the United States - the first state to do so. At the time, there were about 4 million people enslaved in the American South.

In 1861, William was just 11 years old when on August 5th, in order to help pay for the Civil War, the Federal government instituted the first income tax in the United States. The Revenue Act of 1861 was rescinded in 1862 but from 1861 through 1862, a flat tax was charged - 3% - on all income over $800, which included only 3% of households. In 1862, a broader tax was enacted.

In 1862, in the year of William Wallace Lincoln's passing, British citizen Anna Leonowens, a widow, accepted a job in Siam (now Thailand) to teach the children and wives of the King of Siam - he had 39 wives and concubines and 82 children. Taking her son with her and sending her daughter to England for schooling, she taught in Siam for 6 years - until the King died.

In 1865, when he was just 15 years old, on April 9th, Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union Army at Appomattox Court House. Lee's surrender led to a series of surrenders in the Confederacy and in 1866 President Johnson issued a "Proclamation—Declaring that Peace, Order, Tranquility, and Civil Authority Now Exists in and Throughout the Whole of the United States of America".