According to historian Michael Burlingame, historians typically consider Robert Todd Lincoln, "a particularly unfortunate, even tragic figure." Like so many sons of famous fathers, he lacks a strong sense of identity. He once complained, "No one wanted me for Secretary of War... For minister to England... For president of the Pullman Company; they wanted Abraham Lincoln's son." Nevertheless, he accepted the appointments and was very well-paid, becoming a millionaire lawyer and businessman, fond of the pleasures of the wealthy conservative Victorian gentleman of his social circle. He had little in common with his father personally or politically – he was not humorous or unpretentious, but rather cold, stuffy and aloof.