I read about this several years ago in an L. M. Boyd column. But I’m not sure I have as much confidence in L. M. Boyd as I do in Cecil and the Teeming Millions.
I have never read anything on Lincoln having syphilis. It is speculated that he had Marfans Syndrome however.
There is no medical evidence to suggest that Lincoln had syphilis, but one of his former law partners believed he did, and spread that rumor.
Make of the rumor what you will. (Certainly, Lincoln’s detractors are eager to embrace it.)
Well, it is thought that Lincoln had a leaky heart valve (aortic regurgitation) and it is true that one cause of such a problem is advanced syphlis.
However, it is equally true that Marfan’s Syndrome causes aortic regurgitation and that Lincoln had other features of that disease. Marfan’s seems a much more likely explanation.