Meet 5 Other Famous Abe Lincolns

Abraham Lincoln, as you’ve probably noticed, is a pretty popular president. If that isn’t evident by his likeness on the penny, the splendor of the Lincoln Memorial, or his massive 60-foot face on Mount Rushmore, you can tell by the number of children who were named after him. In honor of what would have been his 207th birthday, here are five men who also answered to the presidential moniker.

1. ABRAHAM LINCOLN NEIMAN // CO-FOUNDER OF NEIMAN MARCUS

If you’re a fan of top designers and incredible customer service, then you have Al Neiman to thank. Neiman, along with his wife, Carrie Marcus, and her brother, started an advertising agency in Atlanta. They sold the agency for $25,000—though they could have accepted stock in the fledgling Coca-Cola Company instead—and started the Neiman Marcus department store.

Sadly, Al and Carrie divorced, and she retained the rights to the business. Though he tried various business ventures over the years, Neiman mishandled his money and died in 1970 at the age of 95 with nary a penny to his name.

2. ABRAHAM LINCOLN ERLANGER // THEATRICAL PRODUCER

Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

Along with his partner Marc Klaw, Erlanger owned a theatrical booking agency back in the vaudeville era. He became reviled when the agency created a monopoly that controlled all contracts and bookings for more than a decade. He also ignored demands from the Actors’ Equity Union in 1919, causing a strike that shut down productions in New York, Chicago, and Boston.

3. ABE LINCOLN // DIXIELAND JAZZ TROMBONIST 

Abe Lincoln could really wail on the trombone—Abram Lincoln, that is, studio musician and Dixieland jazz musician. His accomplishments include performing solos for the Fibber McGee and Molly radio show, and later providing sound effects for Woody Woodpecker cartoons and Buster Keaton movies.

4. ABRAHAM LINCOLN LEWIS // BUSINESSMAN AND FLORIDA'S FIRST BLACK MILLIONAIRE

Amc333 via Wikimedia Commons // CC0

In 1901, A.L. Lewis helped found Florida’s first insurance company, the Afro-American Life Insurance Company. By 1919, he was president—and the first black millionaire in the state, not to mention one of the richest men in the South. In 1935, Lewis purchased 200 acres of land in Florida called American Beach and turned it into a place where families could vacation without worrying about discrimination or racism. Boxer Joe Louis, writer Zora Neale Hurston, and entertainer Cab Calloway were all regulars—but for the most part, it was just a place for regular families to go somewhere for "relaxation and recreation without humiliation."

5. ABRAHAM LINCOLN SALOMON // TITANIC SURVIVOR

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Abraham Lincoln Salomon was the owner of a wholesale stationery business in New York, but his real claim to fame was surviving the sinking of the Titanic. Salomon, a first class passenger, boarded lifeboat 1—the infamous boat that left holding just 12 passengers—and made it safely to the Carpathia. His family remembered him as a reclusive man who spoke very little, even at family gatherings, and believed his brush with death changed him deeply.