Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Lincoln's favorite hobby

Abraham Lincoln's only hobby was "cats," according to his wife.

Famous Figures

T he White House has a long history of family pets, some more exotic than others. The first furry friends in the executive mansion belonged to its first presidential residents — John and Abigail Adams — who had two dogs named Juno and Satan. Teddy Roosevelt owned an entire menagerie during his term, including guinea pigs, snakes, birds, several horses, and many other animals. But few Presidents had quite as much affection for their pets as Abraham Lincoln did for his cats, Tabby and Dixie.

Both Tabby and Dixie were gifted to the President by William Seward, his secretary of state, and the two kittens lived at the White House (likely along with other strays invited by the commander in chief). Many anecdotes from government officials, family, and friends speak to Lincoln's unyielding affection for his feline friends. Caleb Carman, a friend of the President's, once said that Lincoln could "talk to [cats] for half an hour at a time." Lincoln himself, known for his sharp wit, once quipped that "Dixie is smarter than my whole Cabinet!" And supposedly, the President was even distracted at the 1865 Siege of Petersburg during the Civil War due to the nearby meowing of kittens. But the anecdote that most cements Lincoln's ailurophilia into history comes from his wife, Mary Todd. When asked if her husband had any hobbies, she had one simple reply: "Cats."

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By the Numbers

Cats adopted in the U.S. every year

1.3 million

Number of White House cats — Bounder, Climber, Tiger, Blacky — during Calvin Coolidge's presidency

Did you know?

The musical "Cats" is based on a book of poems by T.S. Eliot.

You may think that Andrew Lloyd Webber, the musical mind behind the Tony Award-winning Cats, would be a feline fanatic. But not so much. In interviews leading up to the show's debut in London's West End theater district, the British composer was quoted as saying he felt "quite neutral" about cats, and that the only cat he ever liked "was an old Siamese who was fond of Tchaikovsky." So where did he find the inspiration for the musical? Cats is actually based on a body of work by poet T.S. Eliot, who himself very much loved the creatures. Published in 1939, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats collects poems Eliot originally composed for his godchildren, which explore the curious complexity of feline psychology. In 1983, nearly 20 years after his death, Eliot won two Tony Awards, for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. His widow and collaborator Valerie Eliot received the honor in his place.

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