Abe Gets His Own App

It might have been the birthday Tuesday of our 16th President, but history buffs now will have a great way to keep tabs with everything Abraham Lincoln.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation has launched the Abe App, a smarphone application that will let everyone explore facts, take quizzes and look at pictures from the Lincoln Presidential museum with just a click of a finger.

Now folks can examine every aspect of Lincoln's life from his boyhood to presidency - from little-known tidbits like his favorite meal to his views on slavery, according to Carla Knorowski, chief executive officer of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation.

Augie Aleksy, president of the Forest Park Historical Society, said it sounded pretty interesting.

"More information and exposure is a good thing," he said. "The more that's out there the better," he said.

Users also can hear the very same sounds Lincoln and his family heard in daily life. The quiz timer is a recording of Lincoln’s office clock ticking. A wrong answer triggers the clock’s gong. A right answer is greeted by Robert Lincoln’s dinner bell.

There also will be a feature called Abe-a-Day, which recalls daily facts about Lincoln, said Amy Martin, director of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, which operates the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

A link to the museum's gift shop, information on the foundation and other contact information also are available.

The app, which is free, is available for iPhones and for phones using Android-based operating systems. 

The Abe App was developed by EDA-Soft Mobile Solutions.

The private, non-profit Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation supports programming at the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. It fosters Lincoln scholarship through the acquisition and publication of documents and promotes historical literacy through a wide range of activities. To learn more, visit www.presidentlincoln.org.