Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Volga Bam here with a classic episode from our previous host, Christian Sager. Some common names that we give our pets are more self explanatory than others. Spot, Colonel, fluffy pants, the classics, you know, But how did Fido become shorthand for a friendly and loyal dog? Hey, brain Stuff, it's Christian Sager here. You may have met a furry ace, Bandit, Jack or Sparky, but the chance of being introduced to
a Fido are much much lower these days. Fido doesn't even make the top one hundred, but the once popular name for male dogs has become a generic shorthand for dog itself. So just why is the dog name Fido such a part of the American lexicon? Well, the credit goes to Abraham Lincoln, America's sixteen president. Before he was comming er in chief and still lived in Springfield, Illinois,
Lincoln's household included several dogs and cats. One particularly therapeutic dog was Fido, a mixed breed dog of yellow hue whose name is Latin for faithful. Fido became Lincoln's near constant companion about five years before the then lawyer became president. According to the Presidential Pet Museum, Fido enjoyed scraps from Lincoln's plate at meals, patiently waited outside the barbershop or any other establishment Lincoln patronized, and generally became well known
as a good natured dog around town. In eighteen sixty three, as he prepared to move to the White House, it became apparent that Fido was a little too friendly and perhaps ill mannered for high office. In fact, a nineteen fifty four profile of Fido published in Life magazine called
him a frisky mongrel. To ensure Fido had a good life back in springfiel Field, Lincoln decided to have a local carpenter and his family take care of Fido, leaving them detailed instructions for the dog's proper care and spoiling. Fido was never to be chided for having muddy pause in the house, and he was to be given scraps
from the table at meal time. To help soothe the sense of loss, Lincoln had Fido's formal portrait taken with the relatively new photographic technology, or so the story goes, regardless of its providence, the photo made its way into numerous newspapers, and shortly thereafter Fido, both the dog and the name skyrocketed in popularity. The name's meteoric rise continued during Lincoln's presidency and was further fueled by his assassination
in eighteen sixty five. As mourners flocked to Springfield for the president's funeral, the carpenter returned to Lincoln's home with Fido and let the mourning public meet the dog. Justice Fido's man ster was killed by another man, so too did Fido meet an unfortunate end at the hands of another In eighteen sixty six, a year after Lincoln's assassination, Fido, ever the trusting and people loving dog, came across a
man apparently sleeping on a sidewalk. Fido started to lick the man's face, which prompted the man, who was drunk at the time, to awaken panic and pull a knife at the sight of the dog's mouth so close to his face, stabbing Fido in self defense. With the popularity of the name peeking in the late eighteen hundreds, Fido made its way into the public consciousness during an era when mass media was taking hold in the country and
remained there for years to come. While Fido met a tragic end, his name lives on in popular culture, signifying the platonic ideal of a friendly, faithful hooch. Today's episode was written by Lauriel Dove and produced by Dylan Fagan and Tyler Clay. For more on this and lots of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.