Lincoln's Birthday is a legal, public holiday in some U.S. states, observed on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth on February 12, 1809 in Hodgenville (Hodgensville, Hodgen's Mill), Kentucky.
Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, California, Missouri, and New York observe the holiday.
Here is what happened on Lincoln's birthday in 1954:
Liberty Bell Rings Oaf For Nations Behind Iron Curtain PHILADELPHIA (UPI)
The Liberty Bell, symbol of American independence, rang out today for nations behind the Iron Curtain. Seven recent escapees from Red-dominated countries of Europe each struck the historic bell with a rubber mallet and urged "courage" to friends and relations still under Russian rule.
The ceremony at Independence Hall highlighted a Lincoln birthday demonstration staged by the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars in cooperation with the American Heritage Foundation. The entire affair was tape recorded for re-play on Radio Free Europe to the Iron Curtain nations.
Representatives of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Rumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Albania tapped the historic bell with a small mallet and encouraged their countrymen to continue to resist. For Czechoslovakia the ceremony bad a double significance. Czechoslovak freedom from Austria-Hungary was first proclaimed at Independence Hall October 26, 19418, by Thomas C. Masaryk, first president of the Czechoslovakia.
John Svoboda. who escaped from Czechoslovakia two years ago. started the ceremony by raising a replica of the original flag of the United States with 13 Stars. Svoboda, now a waiter here, was selected because his name in Czechoslovakian means "freedom."
On display in Independence Square was the tank in which eight daring Czechs crashed through the Iron Curtain to freedom several months ago. Vaclav Uhiik. the man who built the tank and engineered the escapade, received Philadelphia's version of a "key to the city"- a small replica of City Hall. Clifford Harbaugh, head of the county American Legion who promoted the ceremony, urged other cities in the nation to launch similar demonstrations, the message of freedom mean a lot," he said. "Every city should put on such a show to make persons conscious of the Communist threat." The names of the escapees from the Iron Curtain countries were not revealed because of friends and relatives still in those nations.
Also in 1954:
On February 12, 1954, three helium-filled balloons with light blue lettering Crusade for Freedom were launched at the international boundary line on the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Two rose up into the sky, the third fell into the Detroit River. The launching was to "remind Canadians and Americans of the importance of the freedom they possess, and to give hope to the people of other countries in Europe under the Communist yoke."
1955:
In Bismarck, North Dakota, local Eagles Fraternal Order from the steps of the post office launched twenty-one balloons on February 12, 1955. Freedom Scrolls, contribution envelopes and a letter offering a $5.00 prize were in the balloons. The Bismarck Eagles offered one prize was for the first reporting back of a balloon and the other for the reporting farthest from Bismarck. All persons who reported on the balloon received $2.00. The balloon launching was in support of the “Valentines for Freedom” theme that originated from 15-year-old Patty Collins of Bismarck, who had suggested that the balloons launched over the Iron Curtain contain valentines from American children. Balloons were found in both North and South Dakota as far as 153 miles away in South Dakota.
