| First Lady of the United States | |
|---|---|
| Style | Mrs. Obama |
| Residence | White House |
| Inaugural holder | Martha Washington |
| Formation | April 30, 1789 |
| Website | First Ladies |
The First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. The position is traditionally filled by the wife of the President of the United States, but on occasion the title has been applied to women who were not Presidents' wives, such as when the President was a bachelor or widower, or when the wife of the President was unable to fulfill the duties of the First Lady herself. First Lady is not an elected position; it carries no official duties and receives no salary. Nonetheless, she attends many official ceremonies and functions of state either along with or in place of the President. Traditionally, First Lady does not hold outside employment while occupying the office. The Office of the First Lady is also in charge of all social and ceremonial events of the White House. The First Lady has her own staff, including the White House Social Secretary, a Chief of staff, Press secretary, Chief Floral Designer, and Executive Chef. The Office of the First Lady is a branch of the Executive Office of the President.
According to the White House and the National First Ladies' Library, there have been forty-five First Ladies and forty-six First Ladyships. This discrepancy exists because Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms and is counted chronologically as both the twenty-second and the twenty-fourth President; his wife Frances Folsom Cleveland is also counted twice. Following Barack Obama's inauguration on January 20, 2009, his wife Michelle Obama became the forty-sixth First Lady, succeeding Laura Bush, wife of former President George W. Bush.
As of May 2009, there are six living former First Ladies: Betty Ford, widow of Gerald Rudolph Ford; Rosalynn Carter, wife of Jimmy Carter; Nancy Reagan, widow of Ronald Reagan; Barbara Bush, wife of George H. W. Bush; Hillary Rodham Clinton, wife of Bill Clinton; and Laura Bush, wife of George W. Bush. The first First Lady of the US was Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, married to George Washington. Presidents John Tyler and Woodrow Wilson had two official First Ladies – both remarried during their presidential tenures. The wives of four Presidents died before their husbands were sworn into Office but are still considered First Ladies by the White House and National First Ladies' Library: Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, wife of Thomas Jefferson; Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson, wife of Andrew Jackson; Hannah Hoes Van Buren, wife of Martin Van Buren; and Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur, wife of Chester A. Arthur.
Harriet Lane, James Buchanan's niece, is the only person not married to a President who was considered an official First Lady; however, Dolley Madison served unofficially as Jefferson's First Lady; Emily Donelson and Sarah Yorke Jackson served unofficially as First Ladies during Jackson's presidency; and Chelsea Clinton served unofficially as First Lady during her mother's campaign and term as Senator during her father's presidency.
The title "First Lady" was first used to describe Dolley Madison in her eulogy given by James Madison. It did not enter official usage until Harriet Lane entered the White House.
In 2007, the United States Mint began releasing a set of half-ounce $10 gold coins under the First Spouse Program with engravings of portraits of the First Ladies on the obverse. When a President served without a spouse, a gold coin is issued that bears an obverse image emblematic of Liberty as depicted on a circulating coin of that era and a reverse image emblematic of themes of that President's life. This is true for the coins for Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan's First Ladies, but not the coin for Chester A. Arthur's First Lady, which will instead depict suffragette Alice Paul.
First Ladies
| First Lady | Date of marriage | President | Entered White House | Left White House | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Martha Custis Washington (née Dandridge) | January 6, 1759 | George Washington | April 30, 1789 | March 4, 1797 |
| 2 |  | Abigail Adams (née Smith) | October 25, 1764 | John Adams | March 4, 1797 | March 4, 1801 |
| 3 |  | Martha Jefferson Randolph | January 1, 1772 | Thomas Jefferson | —[n 1] | — |
| 4 |  | Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne) | September 14, 1794 | James Madison | March 4, 1809 | March 4, 1817 |
| 5 |  | Elizabeth Monroe (née Kortright) | February 16, 1786 | James Monroe | March 4, 1817 | March 4, 1825 |
| 6 |  | Louisa Catherine Adams (née Johnson) | July 26, 1797 | John Quincy Adams | March 4, 1825 | March 4, 1829 |
| 7 |  | Rachel Robards Jackson (née Donelson) | January 7, 1794 | Andrew Jackson | —[n 2] | — |
| 8 |  | Hannah Van Buren (née Hoes) | February 21, 1807 | Martin Van Buren | —[n 3] | — |
| 9 |  | Anna Harrison (née Tuthill Symmes) | November 22, 1795 | William Henry Harrison | March 4, 1841[n 4] | April 4, 1841 |
| 10 |  | Letitia Tyler (née Christian) | March 29, 1813 | John Tyler | April 4, 1841 | September 10, 1842[n 5] |
| 11 |  | Julia Tyler (née Gardiner) | June 26, 1844 | June 26, 1844[n 6] | March 4, 1845 | |
| 12 |  | Sarah Polk (née Childress) | January 1, 1824 | James K. Polk | March 4, 1845 | March 4, 1849 |
| 13 |  | Margaret Taylor (née Mackall Smith) | June 21, 1810 | Zachary Taylor | March 4, 1849 | July 9, 1850 |
| 14 |  | Abigail Fillmore (née Powers) | February 5, 1826 | Millard Fillmore | July 9, 1850 | March 4, 1853 |
| 15 |  | Jane Pierce (née Means Appleton) | November 19, 1834 | Franklin Pierce | March 4, 1853 | March 4, 1857 |
| 16 |  | Harriet Lane | —[n 7] | James Buchanan | March 4, 1857 | March 4, 1861 |
| 17 |  | Mary Todd Lincoln (née Todd) | November 4, 1842 | Abraham Lincoln | March 4, 1861 | April 15, 1865 |
| 18 |  | Eliza Johnson (née McCardle) | May 17, 1827 | Andrew Johnson | April 15, 1865 | March 4, 1869 |
| 19 |  | Julia Boggs Grant (née Dent) | August 22, 1848 | Ulysses S. Grant | March 4, 1869 | March 4, 1877 |
| 20 |  | Lucy Ware Hayes (née Webb) | December 30, 1852 | Rutherford B. Hayes | March 4, 1877 | March 4, 1881 |
| 21 |  | Lucretia Garfield (née Rudolph) | November 11, 1858 | James A. Garfield | March 4, 1881 | September 19, 1881 |
| 22 |  | Ellen Arthur (née Lewis Herndon) | October 25, 1859 | Chester A. Arthur | —[n 8] | — |
| 23 |  | Frances Clara Cleveland (née Folsom; later Preston) | June 2, 1886 | Grover Cleveland | June 2, 1886[n 9] | March 4, 1889 |
| 24 |  | Caroline Lavinia Harrison (née Scott) | October 20, 1853 | Benjamin Harrison | March 4, 1889 | October 25, 1892[n 10] |
| 25 |  | Frances Clara Cleveland (née Folsom; later Preston) | June 2, 1886 | Grover Cleveland | March 4, 1893 | March 4, 1897 |
| 26 |  | Ida McKinley (née Saxton) | January 25, 1871 | William McKinley | March 4, 1897 | September 14, 1901 |
| 27 |  | Edith Kermit Roosevelt (née Carow) | December 2, 1886 | Theodore Roosevelt | September 14, 1901 | March 4, 1909 |
| 28 |  | Helen Louise Taft (née Herron) | June 19, 1886 | William Howard Taft | March 4, 1909 | March 4, 1913 |
| 29 |  | Ellen Louise Wilson (née Axson) | June 24, 1885 | Woodrow Wilson | March 4, 1913 | August 6, 1914[n 11] |
| 30 |  | Edith Galt Wilson (née Bolling) | December 18, 1915 | December 18, 1915 | March 4, 1921 | |
| 31 |  | Florence Mabel deWolfe Harding (née Kling) | July 8, 1891 | Warren G. Harding | March 4, 1921 | August 2, 1923 |
| 32 |  | Grace Anna Coolidge (née Goodhue) | October 4, 1905 | Calvin Coolidge | August 2, 1923 | March 4, 1929 |
| 33 |  | Lou Henry Hoover (née Henry) | February 10, 1899 | Herbert Hoover | March 4, 1929 | March 4, 1933 |
| 34 |  | Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (née Roosevelt) | March 17, 1905 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | March 4, 1933 | April 12, 1945 |
| 35 |  | Elizabeth Virginia Truman (née Wallace) | June 28, 1919 | Harry S. Truman | April 12, 1945 | January 20, 1953 |
| 36 |  | Mamie Geneva Eisenhower (née Doud) | July 1, 1916 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | January 20, 1953 | January 20, 1961 |
| 37 |  | Jacqueline Lee Kennedy (née Bouvier; later Onassis) | September 12, 1953 | John F. Kennedy | January 20, 1961 | November 22, 1963 |
| 38 |  | Claudia "Lady Bird" Alta Johnson (née Taylor) | November 17, 1934 | Lyndon B. Johnson | November 22, 1963 | January 20, 1969 |
| 39 |  | Thelma "Pat" Catherine Nixon (née Ryan) | June 21, 1940 | Richard Nixon | January 20, 1969 | August 9, 1974 |
| 40 |  | Elizabeth "Betty" Ann Warren Ford (née Bloomer) | October 15, 1948 | Gerald Rudolph Ford | August 9, 1974 | January 20, 1977 |
| 41 |  | Eleanor Rosalynn Carter (née Smith) | July 7, 1946 | Jimmy Carter | January 20, 1977 | January 20, 1981 |
| 42 |  | Nancy Davis Reagan (née Davis) | March 6, 1952 | Ronald Reagan | January 20, 1981 | January 20, 1989 |
| 43 |  | Barbara Bush (née Pierce) | January 6, 1945 | George H. W. Bush | January 20, 1989 | January 20, 1993 |
| 44 |  | Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (née Rodham) | October 11, 1975 | Bill Clinton | January 20, 1993 | January 20, 2001 |
| 45 |  | Laura Lane Bush (née Welch) | November 5, 1977 | George W. Bush | January 20, 2001 | January 20, 2009 |
| 46 |  | Michelle LaVaughn Obama (née Robinson) | October 3, 1992 | Barack Obama | January 20, 2009 | Incumbent |
(source:wikipedia)
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