Fox News: What historians know about Abraham Lincoln’s struggle with ‘melancholy’
The University of Cincinnati's Christopher Tuell has extensively studied the mental health struggles of President Abraham Lincoln and recently was featured in a Fox News article analyzing Lincoln's depression.
"Though the history books play a significant role in our perception and understanding of the ‘rail splitter’ from Illinois, it often becomes easy for us to forget that Abraham Lincoln was very human," said Tuell, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience in UC's College of Medicine and clinical director of addiction services at UC Health's Lindner Center of HOPE. "Lincoln led this nation through its worst crisis, while at the same time battling his own internal war of chronic depression."
Tuell said genetics and the loss of several loved ones early in his life may have played a role in what was known at the time as Lincoln's "melancholy."
"Historical records indicate that Lincoln’s mother and father were disposed to melancholy and that one side of the family ‘was thick with mental disease,'" Tuell said. "Bereavement in childhood can be one of the most significant factors in the development of depressive illness in later life."
Featured photo at top of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Photo/Josue Aguazia/Unsplash.
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.