Martha Washington was the very first 1st lady of the United States. We all know this about her, and that she married George Washington. But, what about her life before him, and after him? Do you...
Category - America’s First Ladies
America’s First Ladies, #45: Melania Knavs Trump
Born Melanija Knavs in Novo Mesto, Slovenia (which was a part of Yugoslavia at the time) on April 26, 1970, our future First Lady was the daughter of Viktor Knavs and Amalija Ulcnik. Her father was a...
America’s First Ladies, #44: Michelle Robinson Obama
Our forty-fourth First Lady, Michelle Obama, was born Michelle LaVaughn Robinson on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. Her father was Fraser Robinson, who worked as a secretary at the Spiegel...
America’s First Ladies, #43: Laura Welch Bush
Our forty-third First Lady was born Laura Lane Welch in Midland, Texas on November 4, 1946. An only child, her father was named Harold Welch and was a builder and real estate developer, while her...
America’s First Ladies, #42: Hillary Rodham Clinton
Our forty-second First Lady is still well known today from her ongoing political and public careers independent of her husband since leaving the White House. She is best known, after being First...
America’s First Ladies, #41: Barbara Pierce Bush
Barbara Pierce would one day become our forty-first, First Lady. She was born on June 8, 1925, in Flushing, New York. Her parents were Marvin Pierce and Pauline Robinson. Her father was president of...
America’s First Ladies, #40: Nancy Robbins Davis Reagan
Nancy Reagan, our fortieth First Lady, was born Anne Frances Robbins (Nancy is a common nickname for Anne) on July 6, 1921, in Manhattan, New York. The only child of Kenneth Robbins and Edith...
America’s First Ladies, #39 – Rosalynn Smith Carter
Our thirty-ninth First Lady, Rosalynn Carter, was born Eleanor Rosalynn Smith on August 18, 1927, in Plains, Georgia. She was the eldest child of four children born to Wilburn Smith and Allethea...
America’s First Ladies, #38 — Elizabeth “Betty” Bloomer Ford
The thirty-eighth First Lady of the United States, Elizabeth Anne “Betty” Bloomer Ford, was born on April 18, 1918, in Chicago, Illinois. She was the third child and only daughter of her parents...
America’s First Ladies, #37 — Thelma “Pat” Ryan Nixon
Thelma Ryan was called “Pat” from an early age, and eventually became Pat Nixon, the thirty-seventh First Lady of the United States. A farmer’s daughter, she worked her whole life until her first...
America’s First Ladies, #36 — Claudia “Lady Bird” Taylor Johnson
Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson was the wife of US President Lyndon B. Johnson, and the daughter of a wealthy Texas family with roots in Alabama. Her childhood was unconventional, as was her school...
America’s First Ladies, #35 — Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
Jacqueline “Jackie” Bouvier Kennedy was the 35th First Lady of the United States, being married to John F. Kennedy. She came from a wealthy socialite family from New York City, and went on to become...
America’s First Ladies, #34 — Mamie Doud Eisenhower
Mamie Doud Eisenhower was the 34th First Lady of the United States. From a wealthy Iowa family, she became an Army wife to Dwight D. Eisenhower, and then First Lady of the USA, and the 1st First Lady...
America’s First Ladies, #33 – Bess Wallace Truman
Bess Wallace Truman was the 33rd First Lady of the United States. The wife of Harry Truman, Bess never wanted the publicity and public scrutiny that came with being the First Lady, but she did what...
America’s First Ladies, #32 – Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt was more than just the 32nd First Lady of the United States. She was a force of nature. From her hard childhood to the unconventional nature of her relationship with her husband...
America’s First Ladies, #31 – Lou Henry Hoover
Lou Henry Hoover was the 31st First Lady of the United States. The wife of Herbert Hoover, she was First Lady when the Great Depression began. She was athletic and confident, and introduced some...
America’s First Ladies, #30 – Grace Goodhue Coolidge
Grace Goodhue Coolidge was our 30th First Lady. Wife to US President Calvin Coolidge, she was known for her vivacious, outgoing personality, and for her simple, dignified White House dinners and...
America’s First Ladies #29 – Florence Kling Harding
The wife of 29th US President Warren G. Harding, Florence Kling was born on August 15, 1860, in Marion, Ohio. She was the eldest of three children born to Amos Kling, a successful banker in Marion...
America’s First Ladies, #28 — Ellen Axson Wilson and Edith Bolling Wilson
Woodrow Wilson, our twenty-eighth US President, had two First Ladies. His first, Ellen Axson, died his second year in office. He re-married to Edith Bolling near the end of his third year in office...
America’s First Ladies, #27 — Helen Herron Taft
Helen Herron Taft was the First Lady of many firsts. As the wife of twenty-seventh US President William Howard Taft, Helen was born into a family with political connections. As First Lady, she shone...
America’s First Ladies, #26 — Edith Carow Roosevelt
Edith Carow was the second wife and First Lady of Theodore Roosevelt. She was a pioneering First Lady in many ways, and strong-willed. Her influence over Theodore was well-known. Here is her...
America’s First Ladies, #24 and 25 – Frances Folsom Cleveland and Ida Saxton McKinley
Ida Saxton McKinley was the 25th First Lady of the United States. With a promising beginning, she ended up having a tragic life after her marriage to William McKinley. Her husband devoted himself to...
America’s First Ladies, #23 – Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison
Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison was the 23rd First Lady of the United States and a hard-working one at that. Though her health was never robust during her marriage, she took on many duties to make...
America’s First Ladies, #22 — Frances Folsom Cleveland
Frances Clara Folsom was the wife of 22nd and 24th US president Grover Cleveland. Born July 21, 1864 in Buffalo, New York, she became First Lady when she was only 21 years old, and to this day still...
America’s First Ladies, #21 — Mary Arthur McElroy
Chester A. Arthur was the 21st president of the United States, but his wife died a year before he became president. Instead, he asked his sister, Mary Arthur McElroy to take on First Lady duties...
America’s First Ladies, #20 – Lucretia Rudolph Garfield
Lucretia Rudolph was the wife of 20th US President James Garfield. A woman of keen intellect, she and James enjoyed a scholarly lifestyle together. Yet, due to James's assassination, she was First...
America’s First Ladies #19 – Lucy Ware Webb Hayes
Lucy Ware Webb Hayes was a modern First Lady in every sense of the word. Highly educated and passionate about progressive causes like women's rights and the abolition of slavery, she was the first...
America’s First Ladies, #18 – Julia Boggs Dent Grant
Julia Boggs Dent Grant was a pioneering First Lady in a number of ways. She had a birth defect but didn’t let it hold her back. She was a staunch supporter of women’s rights and opposed white...
America’s First Ladies, #17 – Eliza McCardle Johnson
Born October 4, 1810, Eliza McCardle would become the wife and First Lady of U.S. President Andrew Johnson. She was born in Leesburg, Tennessee, and, unusual for the time period, was an only child...
America’s First Ladies #16 – Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Todd Lincoln is one of the most famous of the First Ladies. Hers is an interesting tale, sometimes thrilling, sometimes tragic, but always adventurous and captivating. Here is her true tale, the...