Louis Austin Warren life and biography

Louis Austin Warren was born April 23, 1885, in Holden, MA; died June 21, 1983, in Fort Wayne, IN. Scholar, editor, museum director, and author. A Lincoln scholar, Warren directed the Louis A. Warren Lincoln Library Museum of Fort Wayne from 1928 until his retirement in 1956. He acquired more than eight thousand books on Lincoln as well as topical magazines and newspapers. He published the weekly bulletin Lincoln Lore, edited Lincoln Kinsman, and wrote several books on the president, including Lincoln: Parentage and Childhood, Lincoln's Youth: Indiana Years, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Declaration. Obituaries and other sources: New York Times, June 20, 1983.

Sidelights

As director of the Lincoln National Life Foundation, the late Louis Austin Warren gathered the largest collection of books and pamphlets ever assembled about Abraham Lincoln--more than eight thousand volumes. Warren also directed the Louis A. Warren Library Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, from 1928 until 1956.

Family: Born April 23, 1885, Holden, MA; died June 21, 1983 in Fort Wayne, IN; son of Austin Joseph (a moulder) and Flora (Petts) Warren; married Ellen Moore, November 30, 1916; children: Eleanor Louise Warren Zieg, Kenneth Austin, Lawrence Justin, Evelyn, Lester Moore. Education: Transylvania University, B.P.T., 1916. Politics: Republican. Religion: Disciples of Christ. Memberships: Kentucky Historical Society, Indiana Historical Society, Illinois Historical Society, Society of Midland Authors, Chicago Civil War Round Table, Fort Wayne Civil War Round Table, Disciples of Christ Historical Society (president, 1957), Filson Club (Louisville, KY), Pi Kappa Alpha, Pi Gamma Mu.

AWARDS

Litt.D. from Lincoln Memorial University, 1929; citation from Transylvania University for historical contributions, 1954; Distinguished Biography award from Indiana University Writers Conference, 1959; Barondess Award, Civil War Round Table, 1965; Diploma of Honor, Lincoln Memorial University, 1965.

CAREER

Larue County Herald, Hodgenville, KY, editor, 1918-19; Lincoln National Life Foundation, and Louis A. Warren Library Museum, Fort Wayne, IN, director, 1928-56, director emeritus, 1956-83. Lectured on Abraham Lincoln to over one million people, aside from television and radio appearances, 1928-56. Member of Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau, 1941-53; member of advisory council, U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission, 1958-65; honorary member of Lincoln Sesquicentennial Commission, 1959.

BOOKS

* Lincoln's Parentage and Childhood: A History of the Kentucky Lincolns Supported by Documentary Evidence, Century, 1926.
* Lincoln's Youth: Indiana Years, Seven to Twenty-one, 1816-1830, Appleton, 1959.
* Lincoln's Gettysburg Declaration, Lincoln National Life Foundation, 1964.
* (Compiler) A Man for the Ages: Tributes to Abraham Lincoln, Louis A. Warren Lincoln Library and Museum (Fort Wayne, IN), 1978.

PAMPHLETS

* Souvenir of Lincoln National Park, Hodgenville, Kentucky, Hodgenville Herald Publishing Company, 1920.
* From White House to Log Cabin: Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson at the Birth Place of Abraham Lincoln, Hodgenville Herald Publishing Company, 1921.
* Lincoln Memorial Building, Hodgenville, Kentucky, Hodgenville Herald Publishing Company, 1921.
* Louisville Lincoln Loop: A Day's Tour in "Old Kentucky", Standard Printing Company, 1922.
* Souvenir of Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace, Munford, 1927, reprinted, 1972.
* Lincoln Log Cabin, Hodgenville, Kentucky, Munford, 1927.
* The Slavery Atmosphere of Lincoln's Youth, Lincolniana Publishers, 1933.
* Little Known Lincoln Episodes, Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, 1934.
* Abraham Lincoln: A Concise Biography, Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, 1934.
* Lincoln Sheet Music: Check List, Lincolniana Publishers, 1940.
* Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address": An Evaluation, C. E. Merrill, 1946.

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