The thing about Lincoln, is he was not a "looker" for this time period. He was freakishly tall, and very skinny, almost like a walking skeleton. He also had a giant forehead and pronounced cheek bones, which made him look, well... scary. He was born into poverty, which means he didn't eat well for most of his upbringing. He was raised on the frontier, and untimely death was a part of daily life. Lincoln himself failed a lot in life, but he did voluntarily enlist into the Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War, twice. Yes, you heard that correctly. Knowing the Militia were severely outnumbered, and support from Washington, D.C. wasn't going to be coming anytime soon, he did so honorably. What really is fascinating, is the ability to go from killing all threats on the frontier (there were many), to wearing a suit and tie in the Oval Office. That should speak to his mental capacity to be able to do that in just a couple of decades. Mad props to Lincoln all day!