First_Lady_of_the_United_States

Martha Washington, Original First Lady of the United States.
First Lady of the United States is the unofficial title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is sometimes taken to apply only to the wife of a sitting president, however several women other than wives of presidents, have served as first lady. This situation has arisen due to the president being a bachelor or widower, or when the wife of the president is unable or unwilling to fulfill the duties of the first lady herself. In these cases, the position has been filled by a female relative or friend of the president.
To date, no women have served as president of the United States. Presumably, a female president would serve as her own official hostess, and it is not known what title would be applied to a president's husband, who would presumably serve as the host of the White House. There have been many female state governors over the years: their spouses are typically referred to as "the first man" or "first gentleman."
Some famous former first ladies include Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Jacqueline Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Contents

1 Origins of the title
2 Role of the First Lady
3 First Ladies of the United States

3.1 Non-spouse "First Lady" or "White House hostess"


4 References
5 External links
6 Credits



The wife of the vice president of the United States is sometimes referred to as the Second Lady of the United States; however this title is much less common. The term "first lady" is also used to describe the wife of other government chief executives or a woman who has acted as a leading symbol for some activity; for example, referring to Maria Shriver as the "First Lady of California."

Origins of the title
Although the words first lady had previously been used in combination before, their use as a title to describe the spouse or hostess of an executive was initially an American invention.


Did you know?The original First Lady of the United States, Martha Washington, was often referred to as "Lady Washington"
In the early days of the republic, there was no generally agreed upon title for the wife of the president. Many early first ladies expressed their own preference for how they were addressed, including the use of such titles as "Lady," "Queen," "Mrs. President," and "Mrs. Presidentress." Martha Washington was often referred to as "Lady Washington."
According to legend, Dolley Madison was referred to as "first lady" in 1849 at her funeral in a eulogy delivered by President Zachary Taylor. However, no written record of this eulogy exists today.
Sometime between 1849 and 1877, the title began being used in social circles in Washington, D.C. The oldest known written use of the title is from the November 3, 1863, diary entry of William Howard Russell, when he referred to “gossip about ‘the first Lady in the Land.’”
The title first gained nationwide recognition in 1877, when newspaper journalist Mary Clemmer Ames referred to Lucy Webb Hayes as "the first lady of the land" while reporting on the inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes. Mrs. Hayes was a tremendously popular first lady, and the frequent reporting on her activities helped spread use of the title outside Washington.

 Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States (2001–2009).
A popular 1911 comedic play by playwright Charles Nirdlinger titled, The First Lady in the Land, cemented use of the title by the general public, and it first entered the dictionary in 1934.
Use of the title to refer to the wife or hostess of a chief executive later spread from the United States to other nations, often without translation of "first lady" into the native language of those nations.
In government jargon, "First Lady of the United States" is sometimes acronymized as "FLOTUS," similar to the President of the United States being referred to as "POTUS."

Role of the First Lady
 From left to right, Nancy Reagan, Ladybird Johnson, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rosalyn Carter, Betty Ford, and Barbara Bush in 1994
The first lady is not an elected position, carries no official duties, and brings no salary. Nonetheless, she attends many official ceremonies and functions of state either along with or in place of the president. The first lady also frequently participates in humanitarian and charitable work. Furthermore, many have taken an active role in campaigning for the president with whom they are associated. Hillary Rodham Clinton took the role one step further when she was, for a time, given a formal job in the Clinton administration to develop reforms to the health care system.
Two first ladies have held office in their own right. Hillary Rodham Clinton has been a United States Senator since 2001: her service actually began a few days before her husband's second term as president ended. Eleanor Roosevelt was a member of the American delegation to the United Nations during the Truman administration. She was also briefly a deputy director of the Office of Civil Defense while her  husband was president.

First Ladies of the United States
The following women have been recognized by The National First Ladies' Library as "First Lady":



First Lady

Relation to President

From

To


Martha Dandridge Custis Washington

wife of George Washington

April 30, 1789

March 4, 1797


Abigail Adams

wife of John Adams

March 4, 1797

March 4, 1801


Martha Jefferson Randolph

daughter of widower Thomas Jefferson

March 4, 1801

March 4, 1809


Dolley Madison

friend of widower Thomas Jefferson

March 4, 1801

March 4, 1809


Dolley Madison

wife of James Madison

March 4, 1809

March 4, 1817


Elizabeth Kortright Monroe

wife of James Monroe

March 4, 1817

March 4, 1825


Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams

wife of John Quincy Adams

March 4, 1825

March 4, 1829


Emily Donelson

niece of widower Andrew Jackson

March 4, 1829

December 19, 1836


Sarah Yorke Jackson

daughter-in-law of widower Andrew Jackson

November 26, 1834

March 4, 1837


Angelica Van Buren

daughter-in-law of widower Martin Van Buren

March 4, 1837

March 4, 1841


Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison

absent wife of William Henry Harrison

March 4, 1841

April 4, 1841


Jane Irwin Harrison

daughter-in-law of William Henry Harrison

March 4, 1841

April 4, 1841


Letitia Christian Tyler

first wife of John Tyler

April 4, 1841

September 10, 1842


Priscilla Cooper Tyler

daughter-in-law of widower John Tyler

September 10, 1842

June 26, 1844


Julia Gardiner Tyler

second wife of John Tyler

June 26, 1844

March 4, 1845


Sarah Childress Polk

wife of James K. Polk

March 4, 1845

March 4, 1849


Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor

wife of Zachary Taylor

March 4, 1849

July 9, 1850


Abigail Powers Fillmore

wife of Millard Fillmore

July 9, 1850

March 4, 1853


Jane Means Appleton Pierce

wife of Franklin Pierce

March 4, 1853

March 4, 1857


Harriet Lane

niece of bachelor James Buchanan

March 4, 1857

March 4, 1861


Mary Todd Lincoln

wife of Abraham Lincoln

March 4, 1861

April 15, 1865


Eliza McCardle Johnson

wife of Andrew Johnson

April 15, 1865

March 4, 1869


Julia Dent Grant

wife of Ulysses S. Grant

March 4, 1869

March 4, 1877


Lucy Ware Webb Hayes

wife of Rutherford B. Hayes

March 4, 1877

March 4, 1881


Lucretia Rudolph Garfield

wife of James A. Garfield

March 4, 1881

September 19, 1881


Mary McElroy

sister of widower Chester A. Arthur

September 19, 1881

March 4, 1885


Rose Cleveland

sister of bachelor Grover Cleveland

March 4, 1885

June 2, 1886


Frances Folsom Cleveland

wife of Grover Cleveland

June 2, 1886

March 4, 1889


Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison

wife of Benjamin Harrison

March 4, 1889

October 25, 1892


Mary Harrison McKee

daughter of widower Benjamin Harrison

October 25, 1892

March 4, 1893


Frances Folsom Cleveland

wife of Grover Cleveland

March 4, 1893

March 4, 1897


Ida Saxton McKinley

wife of William McKinley

March 4, 1897

September 14, 1901


Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

wife of Theodore Roosevelt

September 14, 1901

March 4, 1909


Helen Herron Taft

wife of William Howard Taft

March 4, 1909

March 4, 1913


Ellen Louise Axson Wilson

first wife of Woodrow Wilson

March 4, 1913

August 6, 1914


Edith Bolling Galt Wilson

second wife of Woodrow Wilson

December 18, 1915

March 4, 1921


Florence Kling Harding

wife of Warren G. Harding

March 4, 1921

August 3, 1923


Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge

wife of Calvin Coolidge

August 3, 1923

March 4, 1929


Lou Henry Hoover

wife of Herbert Hoover

March 4, 1929

March 4, 1933


Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt

March 4, 1933

April 12, 1945


Elizabeth Virginia Wallace Truman

wife of Harry S. Truman

April 12, 1945

January 20, 1953


Mamie Doud Eisenhower

wife of Dwight D. Eisenhower

January 20, 1953

January 20, 1961


Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

wife of John F. Kennedy

January 20, 1961

November 22, 1963


Claudia Taylor Johnson

wife of Lyndon B. Johnson

November 22, 1963

January 20, 1969


Patricia Ryan Nixon

wife of Richard Nixon

January 20, 1969

August 9, 1974


Betty Bloomer Ford

wife of Gerald Ford

August 9, 1974

January 20, 1977


Rosalynn Smith Carter

wife of Jimmy Carter

January 20, 1977

January 20, 1981


Nancy Davis Reagan

wife of Ronald Reagan

January 20, 1981

January 20, 1989


Barbara Pierce Bush

wife of George H. W. Bush

January 20, 1989

January 20, 1993


Hillary Rodham Clinton

wife of Bill Clinton

January 20, 1993

January 20, 2001


Laura Welch Bush

wife of George W. Bush

January 20, 2001

January 20, 2009


Michelle Obama

wife of Barack Obama

January 20, 2009

January 20, 2017


Melania Trump

wife of Donald Trump

January 20, 2017

—


Non-spouse "First Lady" or "White House hostess"
The following women are known to have acted as hostess on behalf of the first lady when she was otherwise unable or unwilling:



First Lady

Relation to President


Maria Jefferson Eppes

daughter of widower Thomas Jefferson


Eliza Monroe Hay

daughter of James Monroe


Letitia Tyler Semple

daughter of widower John Tyler


Mary Elizabeth Taylor Bliss

daughter of Zachary Taylor


Mary Abigail Fillmore

daughter of Millard Fillmore


Abby Kent Means

aunt of Jane Means Appleton Pierce


Harriet Lane

niece of James Buchanan


Martha Johnson Patterson

daughter of Andrew Johnson


Jennie Hobart

wife of William McKinley's vice president, Garret Hobart


Helen Taft Manning

daughter of William Howard Taft


Margaret Woodrow Wilson

daughter of widower Woodrow Wilson


Helen Woodrow Bones

cousin of widower Woodrow Wilson


Susan Ford

daughter of Gerald Ford


Chelsea Victoria Clinton

daughter of Bill Clinton


Ivanka Trump

daughter of Donald Trump


ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
Adler, Bill. America's First Ladies: Their Uncommon Wisdom from Martha Washington to Laura Bush. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1589792998
Gould, Lewis L. America's First Ladies: Their Lives and Legacies. New York: Routledge, 2001. ISBN 0415930219
O’Brien, Cormac. Secret Lives of the First Ladies: What Your Teachers Never Told You about the Women of the White House. San Francisco, CA: Quirk Books, 2005. ISBN 1594740143
External links
All links retrieved April 15, 2018.

Alphabetical List of First Ladies of the United States
The National First Ladies’ Library



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