Was Abraham Lincoln ugly

Answer 1

This is more a matter of opinion than of fact, but he was certainly considered ugly. Many people were startled by how tall, gangly, and thin he was. One man who had gone to see him speak at Cooper Union was disappointed by Lincoln's "tall, tall, tall" appearance (he was, on the other hand, impressed by Lincoln's speech). Other's thought he was awkward looking. Lincoln himself even made fun of his looks. He once spoke of a dream he had in which he was at a reception in the White House, during which he heard a group of people calling him common-looking. To this Lincoln responded, "Common-looking people are the best. That's why the Lord makes so many of us.".

In 1860, during his run for president, an eleven-year-old girl even wrote to him, telling him that his face was extremely thin. She told him that if he were to grow a beard his face wouldn't be so thin, and he would be better looking, and probably get more votes. Apparently Lincoln took the advice to heart, because by the time of his inauguration his trademark beard was in place.