
John George Nicolay was born in Essingen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on February 26, 1832. He moved to the United States with his family at age 5, and worked at a local Illinois newspaper growing up. Nicolay went on to serve as secretary to President Abraham Lincoln. Nearly 30 years after Lincoln’s death, Nicolay co-wrote a 10-volume biography on the president, Abraham Lincoln: A History, with friend and fellow Lincoln White House employee John Hay. He was a member of the German branch of the Nicolay family. Nicolay died on September 26, 1901, in Washington, D.C. He was buried in the nation's capital, at the Oak Hill Cemetery.
This Halcyon Classics ebook is the authoritative biography of Abraham Lincoln written by two of the late president's personal secretaries, John G. Nicolay and John Hay. The first two volumes, concerning Lincoln's early life through the early days of the Civil War, are contained in this volume.Nicolay was appointed secretary to the president in 1861, and served in that capacity working closely with