This year the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections will celebrate the 70th anniversary of a significant event in our history. In 1951, two generous alumni, Harlan Hoyt Horner (1878-1965) and Henrietta Calhoun Horner (1880-1964), gifted the University of Illinois their extensive personal library of books and other materials documenting the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. With this donation came the founding of the Library’s Lincoln Room, predecessor to the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections.
Harlan and Henrietta Horner were graduates of the Class of 1901 at the University of Illinois. Following graduation, Harlan worked for the State of New York’s Department of Education, where, in 1909, he was tasked with publishing a pamphlet about Abraham Lincoln in honor of the centennial of his birth.… Read More