Born on February 12, 1809, in Kentucky, Lincoln moved at a young age to Indiana then later to New Salem, Illinois. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army during the Black Hawk War. He later tried his hand at several business and political ventures. He was highly regarded as a practicing lawyer. Lincoln served four terms in the Illinois State Legislature, was briefly elected to Congress (1846) and had a successful law practice in Illinois both before and after his single term in the House of Representatives. It is commonly held that Lincoln had bipolar disorder, which greatly moderated after his marriage to Mary Ann Todd in 1842.