CLASSIC: How did Fido become the default name for dogs?

Summary

Ridiculous History: CLASSIC - How Did Fido Become the Default Name for Dogs?

Host: Ben Bowlin
Co-Host: Noel Brown
Production: iHeartPodcasts
Release Date: December 28, 2024

---

Introduction

In this classic episode of Ridiculous History, hosts Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown explore the intriguing origins of the name "Fido" and how it became synonymous with dogs in the English-speaking world. They delve into the historical context, focusing on Abraham Lincoln's beloved dog, Fido, and examine how a single canine's legacy influenced pet naming conventions for generations.

---

The Genesis of "Fido" as a Pet Name

Ben and Noel kick off the conversation by highlighting the challenges of naming pets, drawing parallels to naming cars. They fondly reminisce about classic dog names like Spot and Sparky but express surprise at how "Fido" became the default choice.

Ben:
"When we investigated dog names back in 2018, Fido was a standout. Interestingly, Fido isn't a name you'd find for people."
[00:24]

Noel adds that "Fido" was prevalent in early advertising and popular media, particularly in classic Looney Tunes cartoons, where it's often used as a generic dog name.

Noel:
"Fido is often what they call dogs in the show. It's just kind of like a stand-in, like Coke is for soda or Xerox is for photocopy."
[01:13]

---

Abraham Lincoln and His Dog, Fido

The hosts transition to discussing Abraham Lincoln’s dog, Fido, emphasizing the dog’s significance in Lincoln’s life and public image.

Ben:
"Fido became known worldwide as a dog's name, and it all started with Abraham Lincoln's dog."
[11:07]

They describe Fido as a loyal, yellow mongrel who accompanied Lincoln during his time as a lawyer in Springfield, Illinois. Fido was not just a pet but a walking symbol of Lincoln’s persona, often seen alongside him in town.

Noel:
"Fido was described as a frisky mongrel in a Life magazine profile. He didn’t accompany the Lincolns to Washington initially, but Lincoln ensured Fido had a loving home."
[13:23]

---

The Role of Photography in Fido's Fame

A significant portion of the episode focuses on the photograph of Fido and the ensuing debate about its authenticity and timing.

Ben:
"Lincoln wanted a family portrait of Fido, which was a relatively new concept at the time. Capturing a dog in a photograph required Fido to be exceptionally calm."
[18:57]

They discuss the details of the photograph, highlighting its unique qualities and how it contributed to Fido’s fame across the nation. However, historian Dr. James Cornelius raises questions about the chronology of the photograph’s creation.

Noel:
"Dr. Cornelius suggests that the photograph might have been taken after Lincoln’s assassination to capitalize on Fido’s popularity, rather than during Lincoln’s lifetime."
[24:56]

Ben concurs, mentioning the lack of matching backmarks on photos taken before Lincoln’s presidency, which Dr. Cornelius uses to support his theory.

Ben:
"All evidence points to the photo being taken in 1865, aligning with Lincoln’s assassination and Fido’s rise to fame."
[35:17]

---

Fido's Tragic End

The episode takes a somber turn as the hosts recount the tragic demise of Fido, linking it to Lincoln’s own assassination.

Ben:
"Fido met an unfortunate end in 1866 when an intoxicated man, Charlie Plank, stabbed him to death in a drunken rage."
[41:34]

Noel elaborates on the circumstances, noting that Fido's excessive friendliness led to his untimely death. Different accounts portray varying degrees of malice, but consensus points to a tragic encounter stemming from Fido's innate trust and affection.

Noel:
"Fido was exceedingly friendly, which eventually caused his death in a very unique way. He suffered the same fate as his master’s assassination."
[45:20]

Ben adds depth by sharing Charlie Plank’s background, emphasizing the complexity of the historical narrative.

Ben:
"Plank was a Civil War veteran with a tumultuous history, including previous legal altercations and violent incidents."
[46:50]

---

Legacy of Fido

Despite his tragic end, Fido's legacy endured, cementing his name as the quintessential dog name in American culture. Ben and Noel reflect on how "Fido" became ingrained in the collective consciousness, much like other brand names that evolve into generic terms.

Noel:
"Fido equals dog, just like Xerox equals photocopy. It became the quintessential image of a faithful, friendly dog."
[49:56]

They draw parallels to other famous animals, noting how media and cultural symbols play significant roles in shaping pet naming traditions.

---

Conclusion and Reflections

In wrapping up, Ben and Noel invite listeners to share their own pet stories and reflect on how historical figures and media influence everyday life, even in something as simple as naming a beloved pet.

Ben:
"Fido became the world's most famous dog, but his story also serves as a reminder of the deep bond between humans and their pets."
[50:39]

Noel:
"It's fascinating how a single dog’s legacy can permeate through history and remain relevant even today."
[50:43]

They encourage the audience to engage with the community on their Ridiculous Historians page and share personal anecdotes, fostering a connection that bridges past and present.

---

Notable Quotes

• Ben (00:24):
  "Fido is not a name for people."

• Noel (01:13):
  "Fido is often what they call dogs in the show. It's just kind of like a stand-in, like Coke is for soda or Xerox is for photocopy."

• Ben (35:17):
  "All evidence points to the photo being taken in 1865, aligning with Lincoln’s assassination and Fido’s rise to fame."

• Noel (45:20):
  "Fido was exceedingly friendly, which eventually caused his death in a very unique way."

• Noel (49:56):
  "Fido equals dog, just like Xerox equals photocopy. It became the quintessential image of a faithful, friendly dog."

---

Final Thoughts

This episode of Ridiculous History masterfully intertwines the personal story of Abraham Lincoln’s dog with broader cultural trends, illustrating how individual narratives can ripple through society to leave a lasting impact. Through engaging dialogue and meticulous research, Ben and Noel offer listeners a comprehensive understanding of why "Fido" became the go-to name for dogs, blending humor with historical insight.

For more engaging stories from the annals of human civilization, tune into Ridiculous History by iHeartRadio.

Transcript

[Ben]

Oh, fellow ridiculous historians, is that you? We're so glad to see you join.

[Noel]

Yeah, good boy.

[Ben]

Joining us for a classic episode. Look, names are tough. We talked. I can't remember what show it was, but we talked about how tough it is to name a car. We know it's tough to name a pet.

[Noel]

What even is that? What is a torag?

[Ben]

He's still on it. So look, if you are investigating like we did back in 2018, the names of dogs, you will see the name Fido show up. And Fido is not a name for people.

[Noel]

Sure isn't. You see it in branding for dog food and all kinds of stuff dating back to. This is the beginning of advertising. I've been watching or rewatching actually a lot of classic Looney Tunes cartoons recently. Pro tip for any Max subscribers out there, every single one of them is on there back from the earliest ones in like the 30s. And Fido is often what they call dogs in the show. You know, Bugs Bunny. And let's be like here Fido. It's just kind of like a stand in. Like Coke is for soda or Xerox is for a photocopy.

[Ben]

Sure. Google for Internet search. Do we also have the. Do we have the World War II propaganda on Max?

[Noel]

I'm not sure. I haven't been through all of it enough to know of what they've stripped, but I'm not 100% sure. I wouldn't be surprised. I know that Disney has removed a lot of the problematic Disney cartoons from Disney.

[Ben]

And we know how Fido became a default name for dogs here in the West. Spoiler. It goes back to an amateur wrestler that we often bring up on the show.

[Noel]

Good reach on that guy. Thanks, Abe Lincoln. Let's jump right in. Sometimes life can seem hard and tough to navigate. But what may seem like the smallest tasks, such as getting out of bed or even brushing your teeth, should be celebrated as a win. And State Farm is here to help you celebrate all your wins. The State Farm personal price plan helps you create an affordable price just for you. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can bundle and save with the personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state. It's better over here at&T customers switching to T Mobile has never been easier.

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[Ben]

Ridiculous history is a production of iheartradio.

[Noel]

Foreign.

[Ben]

Welcome to the show Ridiculous Historians. And thanks for tuning in. Whether you have multiple PhDs in various specific aspects of the story of human civilization, or whether you consider yourself an armchair history enthusiast, one thing's for sure, you've probably, probably met a dog.

[Noel]

Probably. I've met at least two dogs that.

[Ben]

Was the same dog, though.

[Noel]

You think so?

[Ben]

I think it was the same dog.

[Noel]

Why do you think that?

[Ben]

Because you showed me the pictures and I think it's the angle.

[Noel]

Yeah, that's weird. I'm more of a cat person. But no, I've met multiple dogs in truth. And I've also heard of Abraham Lincoln.

[Ben]

Yes. And today's story is about the confluence of these two concepts. When we think about dogs, we always think about strange dog names too. Right. And there's one thing that always baffled me when I was a kid, when I traveled abroad, I didn't understand that dogs who grow up in non English speaking countries don't speak English.

[Noel]

That's right.

[Ben]

It's a weird thing, you know? And you probably ran into dogs who spoke German when you were in Germany.

[Noel]

Are you teasing me, Ben?

[Ben]

No, I'm not.

[Noel]

What do you mean? Like they. When they bark, they do it with like a German accent? Is that what you're saying?

[Ben]

Well, they wouldn't respond to commands.

[Noel]

There you go. See? Look at me getting all twisted around.

[Ben]

Also, in something that has nothing to do with this episode, I think it's hilarious the way that other languages will write the sound of a dog bark. You can look it up for yourselves, folks. I think you'll enjoy it. Oh, I forgot. Hi, I'm Ben.

[Noel]

Whoa, that was the longest preamble, pre name drop opening ever. My name's Noel. And just to get it out of the way. Not get it out of the way, this is a cause for celebration. We'd like to welcome back with open arms, our super producer, Casey Pegram did.

[Ben]

It's been too long. Casey, thank you so much for returning here to the States, here to the studio, here to ridiculous history.

[Noel]

Casey's into dogs, right? You like dogs? I'm a dog person. Absolutely. Yeah. What would you say you're more a dog person or a cat person? Dog. Yeah.

[Ben]

I had both growing up.

[Noel]

So I'm.

[Ben]

I'm pretty agnostic.

[Noel]

Or ambidextrous. I got you.

[Ben]

Ambidextrous. Yeah. With your animal affection.

[Noel]

Yeah.

[Ben]

So it's interesting because we often hear of this divide between cats and dogs. And with just a brief nod to the science behind domestication it's fascinating, Noel. Dogs were domesticated by people, but cats largely domesticated themselves.

[Noel]

Cats do everything for themselves, man. They're persnickety little creatures who don't need us, and they will eat us when we die in our apartments, sad and alone.

[Ben]

Or if the size difference was reversed, they would also eat you.

[Noel]

Totally. Have I told you about how my cat, like, brings little presents and, like. Like, just looks like. They look like satanic rituals laid out on my doorstep. Like, decapitated squirrels and, you know, with the guts in the shape of a pentagram and. Oh, man, it's horrifying. Yeah.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Noel]

I share a bed with this thing. What am I thinking?

[Ben]

A colleague and someone worked with in the past, Lauren Vogelbaum, has the same thing with her cat. That's because you guys have indoor outdoor cats.

[Noel]

I finally put a bell on that little bastard, and now I'm hoping to give those things a fighting chance.

[Ben]

See, I let my cats be the agents of chaos they were meant to be.

[Noel]

No, that's true. And Lincoln appreciated cats in addition to dogs. He referred to cats as, like, one of his hobbies.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Noel]

But his old pal, his trusty sidekick, through thick and thin, well, up to a point. Was an old dog.

[Ben]

Yeah. Was a dog. And today's episode that we're finally getting to is about this dog. It's also a way to answer a question about dog names, because when you think of a dog, you think of generic dog names.

[Noel]

Right? Spot, Sparky.

[Ben]

Yeah. Things like that. And I don't know about you, Noel, but it's strange to me when I meet a dog with a person name. Yeah.

[Noel]

Like Steven or Ashley. I love it, though. I'm a fan of it. When I first heard of a pet that was named after a human, I thought that was the most clever thing in the world.

[Ben]

The first one I met was neither a dog nor a cat. It was a turtle. And I was so impressed. His name was Robert Louis Stevenson.

[Noel]

That's great. He was a very trepidatious, explorative turtle, for sure. Very slowly exploring his surroundings.

[Ben]

He was tentative. But with dogs, there's one name that always feels like the generic. The quintessential name for a dog.

[Noel]

Yeah. Like a Kleenex.

[Ben]

Yeah, yeah. Or Xerox. Yeah.

[Noel]

But, you know, for a dog.

[Ben]

Right. Or Google, but for a dog, it's Fido. Right.

[Noel]

Fido. Here, boy. Here, Fido. Hear Fido. You ever heard that in a Looney Tunes cartoon?

[Ben]

Mm. And very popular in Looney Tunes and I think some Disney stuff as well, these days Fido isn't even in the top 100 common dog names.

[Noel]

Cause they're all named Steven and stuff.

[Ben]

Yeah, right. They're all named George Ashcroft or something. But now, even with the popularity of Fido declining, everybody in the English speaking world at least associates the name Fido specifically with a dog like, let me get a Coke.

[Noel]

You mean a soda, right? Let me see that. Fido. You mean that dog? It's like that.

[Ben]

And it turns out, right, that there's a reason for this. There is a traceable, specific reason that Fido became known world over as a dog's name. And it goes back to our boy, young rail splitter himself. Abraham Lincoln.

[Noel]

Yeah, yeah. That old yellow dog we were talking about, his name was Fido. And he was a mongrel, kind of a mixed breed, yellow floppy eared fellow that Lincoln just adored. And he loved to play with Fido around his home in Springfield, Illinois with his sons Tad and Willie, who are.

[Ben]

Stories of their own, believe you me. Yeah. Before he became president, he had several dogs and cats in his home in Illinois. And seems like the crowd favorite was Fido. At least Lincoln's favorite was Fido.

[Noel]

We'll get into a little bit more of the Fido lore later, but for now, in his heyday, Lincoln, before he became elected president, Fido, he would walk around town, he would go get a little trim at the barbershop, and Fido would wait patiently outside for him, untied, just perfectly loyal. What's the word? Fido is short for what? Fidelity.

[Ben]

Right. The name is Latin for faithful.

[Noel]

Right.

[Ben]

And for about five years before Abraham Lincoln became president, he was a lawyer and Fido would just follow him everywhere.

[Noel]

Yeah, I keep seeing mentions of Fido would even carry parcels for Lincoln in his mouth.

[Ben]

Yeah. And he became sort of this walking business card for Lincoln as well in town. Because they would see the little yellow dog and they would know that the lawyer Lincoln was around, he was about. Yeah, but fame changes things, right? In 1863, as he was preparing to move to the White House to serve as commander in Chief of the the us people started to think that Fido was maybe a little too friendly, a little too outgoing.

[Noel]

Not even that, maybe even a little fragile. Right. Because when in his hometown, when the President won the election, there were all kinds of commotion, right.

[Ben]

We had cannon fire, fireworks, screaming, politicians, people farting.

[Noel]

Yeah, all of that various noises. And Fido was spooked by this. He was not, he was not excited about this. It made him very uncomfortable and he you know, totally kind of withdrew.

[Ben]

Yeah. He was described as a frisky mongrel in a Life magazine profile of him at the time. So he did not accompany originally the the Lincolns to dc. Instead he, they picked up a dog named Gyp and two goats, Nanny and Nanko.

[Noel]

And get rid of the goats to mow the lawn at the White House.

[Ben]

You know, my old co host Scott Benjamin is all about that.

[Noel]

Well, there's a service here in Atlanta where you can rent a goat that'll clean up your foliage.

[Ben]

Yeah. And it's not just in Atlanta. When Scott recommended to me that I, instead of repairing my lawnmower, rent a goat, I thought he was joking.

[Noel]

But he, Scott doesn't joke about stuff like that.

[Ben]

He doesn't really joke. He's a very sincere dude.

[Noel]

That's true. Shout out to Scott Benjamin. Or as I like to refer to him, F. Scott Benjamin. So yeah, Fido stayed behind and it took a while, but the President, it was very important for him that his old trusty yellow dog Fido had a suitable home with suitable affections and spoilage, Right?

[Ben]

Yeah, exactly. And that's why he decided to have another person, a person he could trust take care of Fido. Back there in Springfield, he contacted John Roll, who was a carpenter and said, hey, you and your family, could you take care of Fido? He's a great dog. You've seen him around town. He's the one who carries parcels.

[Noel]

They were old pals.

[Ben]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so he was already familiar with Fido. But just like any helicopter dog parent, as Lincoln left to pursue the presidency, he also left behind detailed instructions for Fido's day to day care and spoiling and the stuff he likes, stuff he doesn't like.

[Noel]

Oh, dare we say conditions.

[Ben]

Yes. Yeah, yeah.

[Noel]

Conditions. What were some of those hit us?

[Ben]

Whenever the Roll family was eating, they had to give scraps from the table to Fido. Also, he could never be yelled at or scolded for having muddy paws in the house.

[Noel]

This becomes a theme with Fido always having muddy paws and being a little too eager to hop up on people.

[Ben]

And they gave him some equipment too, right? Gave the Rolls some equipment.

[Noel]

Yeah. It was a custom couch that Lincoln himself had built because as we know, unlike the myth of Napoleon being extra mega super short, he was just sort of of average height, maybe a little shorter than average. Lincoln was in fact quite tall.

[Ben]

Yes. And some people have specul to a condition known as Marfan syndrome. But regardless of the cause, Lincoln himself was one heck of A scarecrow. He was 6ft 4, very skinny. Looked like you could tie a kite to him and he would fly away. And so a couch that you would buy at the store was not going to accommodate a man of his height.

[Noel]

His lanky frame. His legs would just be hanging off the side if he wanted to have a nice lie down. Right. So, yeah, see, this custom couch, it was made of horsehair. And it was also Fido's favorite piece of furniture. And I'm sure it, you know, had familiar smells and all that. And he made sure that the family that was taking Fido got this piece of furniture so that he could lounge around on it and feel super duper at home.

[Ben]

And it's tough to overstate the importance of this sofa to Fido himself, because when he was frightened, this is the sofa he hid under when he was happy. This is the sofa he lounged upon in a very real way. The sofa, second to Abraham Lincoln, is the most important thing in the home to Fido, we mentioned earlier, Lincoln's sons, right.

[Noel]

Tad and Willie.

[Ben]

Yep, Tad and Willie. And they were, of course, hit by this. This was their childhood dog. They're saying, aw, shucks, good on dad for being the President, but why can't Fido come?

[Noel]

It's the end of an era, you know. But they. I'm sure dad, old Honest Abe explained it to the boys very gingerly. And I'm sure they. They came to understand. I'm speculating here a little bit, but they seemed like good boys.

[Ben]

You might have said, look, I can do two goats. It's the best I could do.

[Noel]

Well, yeah, yeah. Hey, that's a good deal, though, man. One dog for two goats.

[Ben]

I don't know. I don't know.

[Noel]

Dogs don't. Don't mow your lawn either. Those goats, though, apparently were. Were hellraisers in the White House. The staffers did not like them because they would, like, not only chew up the grass like, they would chew up, like, everything.

[Ben]

Have you ever hung out with a goat? With their weird octopus eyes, you mean.

[Noel]

Greatest of all time.

[Ben]

I'm. I'm flattered, Noel. Thank you. No, the physical goat.

[Noel]

No, I have not.

[Ben]

The.

[Noel]

I'd be afraid they'd buck.

[Ben]

Yeah, they're weird. They can be affectionate, but they will eat darn near anything.

[Noel]

Yeah. Like, you know, your fist or your heart, but that's just with their cuddliness.

[Ben]

Yeah. So. Yeah. So despite all the gestures and all the reassurances you can make anybody who has been a parent who had to Explain the loss of a pet to a child. Understands that it's heavy and deep stuff, whether it's just moving or whether the pet has passed away. And perhaps ridiculous historians, as you're listening, you're thinking of moments in your life when you were a child and you lost a pet or you were somehow put out of contact with it. It's very psychologically trying. And Lincoln, you go with allegedly here. Allegedly. Lincoln attempted to combat this by resorting to a relatively new technology at the time.

[Noel]

Yeah, he wanted to have a nice family portrait of Fido. And we've got these images around today. It's great. You can see him, like, lounging on. What is it, like a throw rug kind of situation. What do we got here?

[Ben]

Yeah, it looks like he is on a table with a nice rug or heavy tablecloth, and he's got his paws just roguishly hanging off, like he's ready to jump, but he's comfortable.

[Noel]

This is back when you would have had to stand really still. Doesn't it seem like taking a picture of a dog would be challenging at best?

[Ben]

Yeah, it would have to be a super chill dog.

[Noel]

Yeah.

[Ben]

But be that as it may turned out, it worked. And there's a pretty good photograph of Fido, which you can. You can find if you just Google Fido. Abraham Lincoln. This episode of ridiculous history is brought to you by ebay Motors.

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[Ben]

We did find one wrinkle to the story here, at least in terms of chronology, right?

[Noel]

Yeah, and this is how we start getting well, I think we can use this as a jumping off point into the kind of sad part of this story. There is a historian by the name of Dr. James Cornelius who curates the Abraham Lincoln Collection at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum who says there are some issues with the chronology of when this photograph was taken. Original reports suggested that Lincoln himself commissioned it and it seems maybe a little more likely that it was done in the aftermath of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination, when Fido would have been a very famous dog. And some eagle eyed photog around Springfield thought it might be a hot ticket item to have photographs of the dog that they could sell to mourners.

[Ben]

Yeah, so you'll hear two different versions of the chronology here. You'll hear that the photo was made after the assassination, or you'll hear that it was made beforehand. And regardless, either way, this photo gets into newspapers and Fido the dog himself. And just the name Fido becomes universally acclaimed in the US and probably a little bit beyond the US as well. So this is when people start naming their own dogs Fido. Right? A kid sees a dog in the newspaper and the dog's name is Fido and they think I'm going to name my dog Fido Just like President Lincoln's dog. And when Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 in the Ford Theater, this did very little to quell Fido's popularity. In fact, it added to it, Isn't that correct?

[Noel]

Yes, Ben, that's exactly right. People would line up to take, you know, to meet the presidential dog. And here's a little bit of a breakdown of the story of this photograph as it kind of like weaves into this part of the story. So this guy by the name of F.W. ingmeyer had a photo studio in Springfield. And according to the original story, it was in late 1860 or early 1861. There are actually three shots of Fido. One nice from the front shot and then two profile shots where he's a little bit more kind of hunkered down, like he's swimming in a. He's trying to ford a stream of some kind. Right.

[Ben]

And the exposure makes them all look radically different.

[Noel]

Yeah, it's true. The one from the front is very sepia looking. The. And then there's another sepia looking one from the side that is very high contrast. Kind of like the what? The background is totally white and you can't see any texture. It's almost blown out. And then the last one, which I think is by far the most successful of the photographs aesthetically, you can see that the wall has kind of a shaded, shadowy look to it. And the dog's fur is properly exposed. And you can see the texture of the rug. And there's a lot more detail in this one.

[Ben]

Yeah, there's also the fur is so detailed that it almost looks like Fido might have some German shepherd in him. So Ingmeyer, FW Ingmeyer has also become the subject of investigation, especially by a guy named Dick Hart in his book Springfield Illinois's 19th Century Photographers.

[Noel]

But the problem is that apparently between 1860 and 1861, Ingmeyer wasn't. Didn't have a photography studio. He was actually working as a minister in the Baptist faith. I guess that was his weekend job. And then he was also a sewing machine salesman.

[Ben]

Yeah, he was selling sewing machines and probably preaching on the side as well. He ran a bunch of ads in various papers for his sewing machine agency. But he didn't even start paying for a photographer's license until 1862.

[Noel]

I'm sorry, a photographer's license?

[Ben]

Uh huh. It was a different time, that seems.

[Noel]

Yeah. Wow.

[Ben]

Well, also, it's a really new technology.

[Noel]

That's true.

[Ben]

So you probably. It's a new technology. You probably. I'm just spitballing here, man. You probably have to have some sort of training, safety training.

[Noel]

They got those flash bulbs. They can take your eye out or burn your fingies at best.

[Ben]

I mean, new technology is always a pain. Have you ever watched videos of someone attempting to start a Model T? It's crazy. You can break your arm.

[Noel]

What, just with like, the. You gotta, like, pull it like a lawnmower.

[Ben]

You have to crank it. Yeah, you have to.

[Noel]

It's like starting a chainsaw.

[Ben]

Turn a crank.

[Noel]

Okay. That's crank.

[Ben]

And if it gets cantankerous, it will fly back with such force that it'll break your forearm.

[Noel]

It'll kick back at you. Wow.

[Ben]

So probably, I would like to think taking a photograph was not that dangerous or didn't have that possibility for danger. But you had to have some training. And what you brought up here is really important because we're looking again at the timeline. So that's 1862, right?

[Noel]

That's right. That is allegedly when he began to pay for this license. And installments, I'm imagining. And that's. That's $10 total for the license, which was, you know, a pretty penny back in 1862.

[Ben]

And he first ran an ad for his photography business in October of 1864. Because there were a lot of soldiers passing through nearby Camp Butler. It's important to say that this chronology of the license and the advertisements. This chronology does not prove that Ingmar did not take those pictures of this pooch in 1860 or 1861. But it calls it into question, you know.

[Noel]

That's right. And this is all from a fantastic post, you know, speculating on this chronology. Because again, a lot of this stuff is just that speculation. But it comes from a pretty solid source. A guy by the name of Dr. James Cornelius, who's the curator of that Abraham Lincoln collection at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. So if anyone knows, you know, he ought to know.

[Ben]

Yeah, he's. He's the leading expert. Literally. He sold a matched set. Ingmar, that is, sold a matched set of four photos with identical back marks, which are. Think of it like you may have seen your parents do this writing on the back of a photograph with the name and date. The time or description.

[Noel]

Yeah, yeah. Like a time code that you would see cameras these days. Actually, not so much, but like they used to be. When you get the prints, there'd be that annoying little watermark in the bottom left hand corner. That was the time and the date. There's something kind of similar, if not more analog at play Here, right?

[Ben]

Yeah, exactly. And in this book that we mentioned by Hart, there's this matched set of four photographs that Ingmar sold with these backmarks. And in the Hart book, they're dated back to 1865 and 1866. The four photographs are the. A hillside tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery, A photograph of Lincoln's old home. A photograph of a horse known as Old Bob, which I think is a cool horse name.

[Noel]

Is that the same as Old Robin? Is that a short for it? Cause I've seen it both ways. Did he have two horses? Because Rob could be short for. No, Bob could be short for Robin.

[Ben]

Bob could be short for. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Noel]

Because Robin is. I don't know. The photograph that I'm seeing is actually captioned President Lincoln's horse, Old Robin.

[Ben]

It's gotta be the same horse because I've seen the same photograph. And then I'm looking at the description from Dr. Cornelius. So maybe Dr. Cornelius is just so familiar with him that he calls him Old Bob.

[Noel]

Oh, Bob. Yeah.

[Ben]

He spent a lot of time researching this.

[Noel]

Also in the photograph, maybe they were more formal. You know, that was the. That was the horse's Christian name. If you were familiar, you could call him Old Bob.

[Ben]

But most importantly, that fourth photograph is the high quality profile snap of Fido.

[Noel]

And you know, these look like Ben. These look like the kinds of postcards you would buy at a gift shop for like the Grand Canyon or President Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home or what have you. Right?

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Noel]

So the theory here is that, no, these photos were not commissioned by Lincoln himself during his life. They were done as a kind of get rich quick scheme by this guy Ingmeyer, when Lincoln's death brought droves of mourners and people paying their respects to Springfield.

[Ben]

So why do we believe Dr. Cornelius version of the events? Well, that's primarily because he has matched times and dates into a single unified chronology. And the story about Lincoln commissioning the photographs actually comes to us through John Roll, primarily. And you can't really. We're not saying Roll was lying, but it's very easy for him to be mistaken. You can't really blame someone for getting the details of a dog picture a little bit off, you know, decades and decades later.

[Noel]

I have heard of worse historical blunders, my friend. Right.

[Ben]

So Dr. Cornelius finds a kicker, a nail in the chronological coffin here. He says that if the Lincoln boys, Tad and Willie, had a photograph of Fido in the White House, why does it not have that same back mark? The mark that Ingmaier used To distinguish his photographs. Right. Why doesn't it have one from 1860 to 1861? The thing is, the one surviving copy today is identical to the images from 1865 in both the label and the back mark that indicates the provenance of the photo. If someone took a photo of Fido for the boys in 1861, why would it have needed the label President Lincoln's dog? You can find the family's photo album today in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Or Apple Blum. That's the acronym.

[Noel]

That's a literal mouthful of word salad.

[Ben]

Yeah, but you can, you know, you can find the photo album today, and it doesn't have all of the photos. About half of them are missing, but the other half are in the Lincoln Financial foundation collection in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And so to Cornelius. To Dr. Cornelius. All of this evidence points to the photo being taken in 1865.

[Noel]

I think we had some good detective work there from the good doctor.

[Ben]

I agree. He is the Sherlock Holmes of Abraham Lincoln.

[Noel]

Dog photos.

[Ben]

Dog photos. Yeah. This episode of Ridiculous history is brought to you by ebay Motors.

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[Ben]

Guys, you might be saying, look, I get it. The dog picture was probably made in 65, not 61. But for Pete's sake, for Fido's sake, can't you just let me enjoy a cute picture of a doggo?

[Noel]

Yeah, I mean, seriously, it was like one of the original doggo memes. But also, you know, we really did spend a lot of time talking about those pictures. I'm fascinated by the whole the mystery of it. And when things make their way into official accounts that then prove to not be the case. But this story does take an interesting turn, dare I say a pretty sad turn for old Fido.

[Ben]

Yeah. Yeah, you're right. So obviously it's a national tragedy when Abraham Lincoln is assassinated. And it turns out that Fido also met an unfortunate end. In 1866, about a year after Lincoln's assassination, Fido, again, very much a dog of the people, never met a person he didn't like. Fido was walking along, minding his own business, and he sniffs across somebody who appears to be sleeping on the sidewalk.

[Noel]

I thought you were going to say sniffs a crotch of someone who appeared to be sleeping on the sidewalk.

[Ben]

Possibly both. I bet you. I bet you if you if a friendly dog met you and didn't move, the first thing it would do is sniff your butt.

[Noel]

Yeah. He wants to be sure if you're cool. But this guy was not cool, as it turns out. There's a couple of accounts of this story, conflicting accounts. We'll go with the. The most sensationalized, depressing account, which is that first. That is. Which is that this intoxicated gentleman, this roustabout, this. This kind of delinquent guy, woke from his drunken stupor and stabbed the dog, you know, to death with. With a knife in a panic.

[Ben]

Right. And he's being attacked.

[Noel]

Yeah. Well, yeah. And I've even seen. It was even written up that it was more malicious, that he was just, like, in his drunken rage. Should probably read that one, actually. It was a letter that came from. From the caretaker of the dog.

[Ben]

Yes. In 1954, John Roll, the caretaker of Fido himself, relayed the following information to Time magazine.

[Noel]

Okay, so more of an interview than a letter, but here we go. I didn't realize this came so late in the game. He must have been quite old.

[Ben]

So you can see how he could get some facts wrong.

[Noel]

Yeah, so. But the way he tells it is a little bit more the. This is the most malicious account of this. This guy. He says, quote, we possessed the dog for a number of years, until one day the dog, in a playful manner, put his dirty pa. There's dirty paws again. Upon a drunken man sitting on the street curbing, which I think that means like, whittling, and in a drunken rage, thrust his knife into the body of poor old Fido. So Fido, just a poor yellow dog, met the same fate as his illustrious master assassination.

[Ben]

So that's. That's the most sensationalized version. But as. As we had established earlier, that may not be entirely accurate. And even today, people disagree on the specifics. We're talking about this guy, right, who's on the street whittling his pine stick or whatever. But we haven't given him a name yet.

[Noel]

No, we haven't. And that's the thing about the way these kinds of stories get passed around. It's really easy to want to demonize the man who murdered Abe Lincoln's old yellow mongrel dog in the streets in a drunken rage. But a little less cut and dry when you actually realize that there was a human here with the story. Another spin on this story that you can find comes from a story in the Illinois State Journal from 1893. And here is a quote from that that also gives some pretty. Pretty sad details to the end of old Fido's life. Whichever Way he ultimately went, whether by force or by accident. Quote, he Fido was exceedingly friendly and had a habit of showing his congeniality by depositing his muddy yellow forepaws plump on the breast of any who him familiarly.

[Ben]

Oh, and you can't yell at him for his paws.

[Noel]

Yeah, that's another one of Lincoln's conditions. To the the Roll family, I continue. His excessive friendliness eventually caused his death in a very unique way in that Fido suffered the fate of his master assassination. The dog, which was a yellow fellow of moderate size, ran against Charlie Plank, who was whittling a stick with a sharp long bladed knife. By an accidental move while the dog was expressing himself in caresses, the blade was buried deep in. He shot out the door like a flash and was never seen again alive. Apparently it was a week or more before they found his body.

[Ben]

It's about a month, right?

[Noel]

Yeah. Behind the old chimney stack of the Universalist church there in Springfield.

[Ben]

So he got stabbed and ran in fear, Right.

[Noel]

That is what animals tend to do when they are mortally wounded. They want to go die alone in a house or something.

[Ben]

And I think humans qualify as animals.

[Noel]

That's true.

[Ben]

That part, Charlie Planck's story doesn't end with this murder of Fido. We know a little bit more about him. He had a couple of other encounters with law enforcement after he was. Oh, we didn't mention it. He was a veteran.

[Noel]

Yeah, that's right. He was a veteran of the Civil War. He was a member of Company g of the 114th Illinois Infantry Regiment, which was considered a pretty illustrious company if I'm not mistaken.

[Ben]

Yeah, and we know that he had been beaten and robbed by two men on North 7th street in 1865. We know he got in an argument with a guy named Peter Burns in 1868, ending the argument by drawing a revolver with small shot and shooting Burns in the shoulder. Again, it was a different time. He also got. He also was involved in a court case. Burns was fined the sum of $3 quote. For using language to Charles Plank calculated to provoke a breach of the peace.

[Noel]

Language.

[Ben]

You say fighting words.

[Noel]

Oh my goodness.

[Ben]

He said, you wastrel, you dunderhead.

[Noel]

A wastrel. Is that like a wascally wabbit?

[Ben]

It's a wasteful or good for nothing.

[Noel]

Person that must have fallen out of. Out of popularity. I don't know that one.

[Ben]

So we know what roughly happened to Planck. He had his ups, he had his downs. He had been in some legal altercations. He moved to Michigan eventually worked as a clerk and expressman and passed away in March of 1917. He is buried on the grounds of the Grand Rapids Veteran home. Now, this sounds like it's all ending on a downer, but that's not the case. Because when we look at Fido, you know what it reminds me of? It reminds me of how Max the gorilla in South Africa grabbed such attention and really locked into the zeitgeist. Photography is a relatively new medium. People love animals. There's a picture of an animal that is published in syndicated papers across the nation.

[Noel]

People are against stabbing animals.

[Ben]

Thank God. Generally speaking, yeah.

[Noel]

That's the part of the story I didn't know, though. I knew about Fido, and I knew he was Abe Lincoln's old yellow mongrel best friend for life, but I didn't know that kind of more melancholy part of the story. So it's interesting. But, yeah. And to this day, I mean, like you said, Fido equals dog. Like Xerox equals just, you know, photocopy.

[Ben]

Right, right, right. Or Google equals Internet search.

[Noel]

You mean web crawler. What are you talking about? Google?

[Ben]

What are the other ones? There's prodigy, lycosis, and, you know, lactose.

[Noel]

That's the different thing entirely.

[Ben]

You might still have your AOL cds, friends and neighbors.

[Noel]

I keep a stack of them to use as coasters and just to hand out to people as party gifts when they come by the house.

[Ben]

I always love to frisbee them. Me and my old dog would frisbee those things.

[Noel]

Oh, man. Tell us about your old dog.

[Ben]

It's too soon, man.

[Noel]

Really?

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Noel]

Wow. So a beloved pet.

[Ben]

A beloved pet. Very much so. I love pets, and we hope you do, too. Yes. Fido became the world's most famous dog for a time because I can't think of a more famous one because mass media was going out.

[Noel]

Let's see, there was that one they shot into space. Right. Did I make that up?

[Ben]

No, the Russian dog.

[Noel]

Okay.

[Ben]

And then there was.

[Noel]

Don't know its name, though.

[Ben]

I can't remember. We can find it. His name is on record. And we should do a thing on animals in space. But spoiler, there are a couple of doubters in that one.

[Noel]

But, yeah, especially if you're, again, like, you should be, against animal cruelty.

[Ben]

Right, right. And so, although Fido's life ended too soon, he remains immortal as a symbol. The symbol, at least in American English, for all things Canaan. He is the quintessential. I believe we used the word earlier, the quintessential image of A faithful, friendly dog.

[Noel]

A good boy.

[Ben]

A good boy. Good fighter with B O Y E.

[Noel]

Here comes that good boy. Aw, snap. What up, family show? Look it up for yourself.

[Ben]

So here ends our story of the rise and fall and mortal fame of the most famous presidential dog, the frisky yellow Fido. But the story doesn't stop there. And it doesn't stop with Fido. If you haven't checked it out yet, do check out our community page, Ridiculous Historians, where I believe. Noel, was it you or was it one of our fellow listeners who started that awesome thread about pets?

[Noel]

There's a cat thread. I think it's specifically about cats. And yeah, I posted a picture of my good boy, bad boy. Really, Robert Fernando? Cause he's, like I said at the top of the show, always bringing creepy little dismembered tributes. Yeah, not a fan.

[Ben]

He might be trying to teach you to hunt.

[Noel]

Yeah.

[Ben]

But do let us know about the dogs in your life. Send Casey and Noel and I somehow pictures find us on Ridiculous Historians. You can also find us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook where we are ridiculous history or some variation thereof.

[Noel]

It's true. And as always, thank you to our super producer, Casey Pegram, our super researcher Christopher Hastiotes, and Alex Williams, who composed our Bangin theme.

[Ben]

And a super special thank you to our returning contributor, Lori Lynn. Well, dove, we worked on a sound cue for you, Laurie.

[Noel]

Here we go.

[Ben]

This is what it sounds like.

[Noel]

I like that. And please don't forget to join us next time when we talk about historical mooning.

[Ben]

We are so proud of this. Yes.

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Yeah, it was a good one. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

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