First Lady of the United States

Former first ladies (from left to right): Rosalynn Carter, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush and First Lady Laura Bush at the dedication of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park in 2004.

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 who were not Presidents' wives have served as First Lady, 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. In these cases, the position has been filled by a female relative or friend of the President.

To date, no woman has served as President. While a female President could theoretically serve as her own official hostess, it is not known what title would be applied to a President's husband, who might also serve as the host of the White House. There have been many female governors of U.S. states over the years; their spouses are typically referred to as the First Gentleman.[1]

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, wife of former president Bill Clinton, is the only spouse of a president to be elected to the United States Senate. The current First Lady is Laura Bush. In addition, there are currently five former First Ladies still living: Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

1 Origins of the title
2 Role of the First Lady
3 Office of the First Lady
4 First Ladies of the United States
- 4.1 Non-spouse "First Lady" or "White House hostess"
5 See also
6 External links
7 References

Origins of the title

Former First Ladies Nancy Reagan, Lady Bird Johnson, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford and Barbara Bush sit together at the National Garden Gala, A Tribute to America's First Ladies, May 11, 1994. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was unable to attend due to illness, and died a week after this photograph was taken.

The use of the title first lady to describe the spouse or hostess of an executive began in the United States.

In the early days of the republic, there was no generally accepted 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", "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.[2]

Sometime after 1849, the title began being used in Washington, D.C. social circles. The earliest known written evidence of the title is from the November 3, 1863 diary entry of William Howard Russell, in which he referred to gossip about "the First Lady in the Land."

The title first gained nationwide recognition in 1877, when newspaper journalist Mary C. 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.

A popular 1911 comedic play by playwright Charles Nirdlinger titled The First Lady in the Land popularized the title further. By the 1930s it was in wide use. Use of the title later spread from the United States to other nations.

The acronym FLOTUS is sometimes used for "First Lady of the United States," by analogy to the more well-known acronym "POTUS" for "President of the United States."

The wife of the Vice President of the United States is sometimes referred to as the Second Lady of the United States, but 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, Aretha Franklin has been called "the First Lady of Soul."

Role of the First Lady

"First Lady" is not an elected position, 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. There is a strong tradition against the First Lady holding outside employment while occupying the office [3]. The first lady frequently participates in humanitarian and charitable work; over the course of the 20th century it became increasingly common for first ladies to select specific causes to promote, usually ones that are not politically divisive. It is common for the first lady to hire a staff to support these activities. Additionally, 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.

If the United States were to have a female President, it is commonly presumed that the husband of a female President would act as an analogous "First Gentleman". This was the situation portrayed in the fictitious television series Commander In Chief, in which President Mackenzie Allen's husband Rod Calloway was titled as "First Gentleman", but President Allen's mother ultimately joined the First Family and acted as the official hostess at the White House.

Office of the First Lady

The Office of the First Lady of the United States is accountable to the First Lady of the United States for her to carry out her duties as hostess of the White House, and is also in charge of all social and ceremonial events of the White House. The First Lady has her own staff that includes the White House Social Secretary, a Chief of Staff, Press Secretary, Chief Floral Designer, Executive Chef, etc. The Office of the First Lady is a branch of the Executive Office of the President (EOP).

First Ladies of the United States

The following women have been recognized by The National First Ladies' Library as "First Lady".

Also listed is the First Spouse Program coin designs. Only spouses are honored with coins and those Presidents without a spouse (indicated below with "None") are honored with a "liberty coin" instead. The one exception is for President Arthur who will have Alice Paul honored instead of with a "liberty coin".

# Portrait First Spouse Programcoin
Obverse/reverse Name and Relation From To 1 Martha Dandridge Custis Washington,
Wife of George Washington April 30, 1789 March 4, 17972 Abigail Adams,
Wife of John Adams March 4, 1797 March 4, 18013.1 Martha Jefferson Randolph,*
Daughter of widower Thomas Jefferson March 4, 1801 March 4, 18093.2 None Dolley Madison,*
Friend of widower Thomas Jefferson March 4, 1801 March 4, 18094 Dolley Madison,
Wife of James Madison March 4, 1809 March 4, 18175 Elizabeth Kortright Monroe,
Wife of James Monroe March 4, 1817 March 4, 18256 Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams
Wife of John Quincy Adams March 4, 1825 March 4, 18297.1 Emily Donelson*
Niece of widower Andrew Jackson March 4, 1829 December 19, 18367.2 Sarah Yorke Jackson*
Daughter-in-law of widower Andrew Jackson November 26, 1834 March 4, 18378 Angelica Singleton Van Buren*
Daughter-in-law of widower Martin Van Buren March 4, 1837 March 4, 18419.1 Available 2009 Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison
Absent wife of William Henry Harrison March 4, 1841 April 4, 18419.2 None Jane Irwin Harrison*
Daughter-in-law of William Henry Harrison March 4, 1841 April 4, 184110.1 Available 2009 Letitia Christian Tyler
First wife of John Tyler April 4, 1841 September 10, 184210.2 None Priscilla Cooper Tyler*
Daughter-in-law of widower John Tyler September 10, 1842 June 26, 184410.3 Available 2009 Julia Gardiner Tyler
Second wife of John Tyler June 26, 1844 March 4, 184511 Available 2009 Sarah Childress Polk
Wife of James K. Polk March 4, 1845 March 4, 184912 Available 2009 Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor
Wife of Zachary Taylor March 4, 1849 July 9, 185013 Available 2010 Abigail Powers Fillmore
Wife of Millard Fillmore July 9, 1850 March 4, 185314 Available 2010 Jane Means Appleton Pierce
Wife of Franklin Pierce March 4, 1853 March 4, 185715 None Harriet Lane*
Niece of bachelor James Buchanan March 4, 1857 March 4, 186116 Available 2010 Mary Todd Lincoln
Wife of Abraham Lincoln March 4, 1861 April 15, 186517 Available 2011 Eliza McCardle Johnson
Wife of Andrew Johnson April 15, 1865 March 4, 186918 Available 2011 Julia Dent Grant
Wife of Ulysses S. Grant March 4, 1869 March 4, 187719 Available 2011 Lucy Webb Hayes
Wife of Rutherford B. Hayes March 4, 1877 March 4, 188120 Available 2011 Lucretia Rudolph Garfield
Wife of James A. Garfield March 4, 1881 September 19, 188121 None Mary Arthur McElroy*
Sister of widower Chester A. Arthur September 19, 1881 March 4, 188522.1 None Rose Cleveland*
Sister of bachelor Grover Cleveland March 4, 1885 June 2, 188622.2 Available 2012 Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston
Wife of Grover Cleveland June 2, 1886 March 4, 188923.1 Available 2012 Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison
Wife of Benjamin Harrison March 4, 1889 October 25, 189223.2 None Mary Harrison McKee*
Daughter of widower Benjamin Harrison October 25, 1892 March 4, 189324 Available 2012 Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston
Wife of Grover Cleveland March 4, 1893 March 4, 189725 Available 2013 Ida Saxton McKinley
Wife of William McKinley March 4, 1897 September 14, 190126 Available 2013 Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt
Wife of Theodore Roosevelt September 14, 1901 March 4, 190927 Available 2013 Helen Herron Taft
Wife of William Howard Taft March 4, 1909 March 4, 191328.1 Available 2013 Ellen Louise Axson Wilson
First wife of Woodrow Wilson March 4, 1913 August 6, 191428.2 Available 2013 Edith Bolling Galt Wilson
Second wife of Woodrow Wilson December 18, 1915 March 4, 192129 Available 2014 Florence Kling Harding
Wife of Warren G. Harding March 4, 1921 August 3, 192330 Available 2014 Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge
Wife of Calvin Coolidge August 3, 1923 March 4, 192931 Available 2014 Lou Henry Hoover
Wife of Herbert Hoover March 4, 1929 March 4, 193332 Available 2014 Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
Wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt March 4, 1933 April 12, 194533 Available 2015 Elizabeth Virginia Wallace Truman
Wife of Harry S. Truman April 12, 1945 January 20, 195334 Available 2015 Mamie Doud Eisenhower
Wife of Dwight D. Eisenhower January 20, 1953 January 20, 196135 Available 2015 Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
Wife of John F. Kennedy January 20, 1961 November 22, 196336 Available 2015 Claudia Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson
Wife of Lyndon B. Johnson November 22, 1963 January 20, 196937 Available 2016 Thelma Catherine Ryan "Pat" Nixon
Wife of Richard Nixon January 20, 1969 August 9, 197438 Available 2016 Betty Bloomer Ford
Wife of Gerald R. Ford August 9, 1974 January 20, 197739 § Rosalynn Smith Carter
Wife of Jimmy Carter January 20, 1977 January 20, 198140 § Nancy Davis Reagan
Second wife of Ronald Reagan January 20, 1981 January 20, 198941 § Barbara Pierce Bush
Wife of George H. W. Bush January 20, 1989 January 20, 199342 § Hillary Rodham Clinton
Wife of Bill Clinton January 20, 1993 January 20, 200143 § Laura Welch Bush
Wife of George W. Bush January 20, 2001Present

§ — The first spouse is not honored unless their associated President qualifies for a coin (meaning they have been dead for no less than two years at the time of their potential honoring).

Further information: Presidential $1 Coin Program