Ramblings of the absent-minded: Seven Score and Eleven Years Ago

Seven score and eleven years ago the sixteenth president of the United States gave a speech at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It is now one of the best known speeches in American History and today marks the 150th anniversary of his speech. What most people don't know is that speech was only over two minutes long and Lincoln was NOT the main speaker at the event.

The Gettysburg Address started with the now iconic "Four score and seven years ago" which refers to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, which was 87 years prior to Lincoln's speech. A score is twenty and four times twenty is eighty plus seven equals 87. You'd be surprised how many people are unaware of this fact.

The main speaker that day was Edward Everett, he gave a two hour speech. Long dedication speeches like his were common in cemeteries during that era. His long speech is now seldom read due to its 13,000+ words.

There are also different variations of the Gettysburg Address, five to be exact. They all differ in some way as to the exact wording of the speech. The exact location in which the President gave the speech is also disputed by historians. Of course, any witness of that Thursday in 1863 has long since passed. There is only one confirmed photograph in existence of the President that day.