‘The memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever’ May 30, 2018

‘The memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever’

The iconic Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC, is chock full of symbolism and details for eagle-eyed observers to discover. Dedicated on this day in 1922, the landmark has 36 columns, representing each of the states in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death. The president’s pose was designed to represent both his strength and compassion (one fist is clenched, the other at rest), and even the building materials were sourced from locations significant to his life and legacy. Look closely at the inscription on the wall of the north chamber and you’ll even spot a typo in the text of Lincoln’s second inaugural address, where the sculptor carved ‘EUTURE’ instead of ’FUTURE.’ Oops! The inscription has since been corrected, but the original mistake remains discernable.

© JG Photography/Alamy

palette

Today in History

May 30, 2019A day to celebrate the sun
May 30, 2020Meandering through Patagonia
May 30, 2021Who s hiding in the kelp?
May 30, 2022Memorial Day
May 30, 2023Playa del Amor, Marietas Islands, Mexico
May 30, 2024Everglades National Park marks 90 years
May 30, 2025Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Dec 15, 2025Spiegelgracht canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Nov 13, 2018Autumn’s swan song
Jul 30, 2023Palouse farmland, Washington state
Nov 29, 2025Red deer stag in De Hoge Veluwe National Park, Netherlands
May 31, 2019Mysterious prairie mounds abound
Oct 4, 2025World Space Week
Jul 24, 2019Can you see the family resemblance?
Sep 2, 2019Detroit Industry Murals by Diego Rivera
Nov 5, 2023Playa del Silencio, Spain
Dec 16, 2020Beethoven s 250th
Apr 13, 2021Ruins of a royal temple
Mar 25, 2023Cecil Brewer Staircase, London
Apr 27, 2023South Padre Island, Texas
Oct 3, 2020In the belly of Fat Bear Week
Dec 28, 2021Kjell Henriksen Observatory
Jul 17, 2019Nomads of the Gobi
Sep 16, 2023Oktoberfest begins
Jan 16, 2022Hot and Spicy Food Day
Nov 17, 2021Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
May 7, 2021Deep in the North Woods wetlands
Oct 14, 2018Gone ‘lightseeing’ in Berlin
Jun 27, 2022Lavender fields on the Valensole Plateau in Provence, France
Oct 15, 2021Autumn in the Prosecco Hills
Sep 23, 2024Sea Otter Awareness Week
May 27, 2025Mona Vale Rockpool, Sydney, Australia
Jul 13, 2018The puffin-rabbit connection
Dec 23, 2019A Festivus for the rest of us
Feb 18, 2022Great Backyard Bird Count
Aug 18, 2021Pearl of the Adriatic
Jan 13, 2019On the hunt