Difference between revisions of "First Lady"
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The First Lady is an unusual position in the US, in that she has a state role, albeit a ceremonial one, without having been directly elected. This situation is far more common in some other countries, such as the [[United Kingdom]], where members of the royal family perform comparable hosting and ceremonial duties. | The First Lady is an unusual position in the US, in that she has a state role, albeit a ceremonial one, without having been directly elected. This situation is far more common in some other countries, such as the [[United Kingdom]], where members of the royal family perform comparable hosting and ceremonial duties. | ||
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| + | If a woman (or a homosexual man) were to be elected president, it is possible that there could be a "First Man". However, this has never happened to date, although [[Hillary Clinton]] did come reasonably close to election in 2008 (which would have made former President in his own right [[Bill Clinton]] the "First Man"). | ||
==List of First Ladies== | ==List of First Ladies== | ||
Revision as of 16:23, August 3, 2011
The First Lady is the unofficial title given to the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the President of the United States of America. When a sitting president is either a bachelor or a widower, or the wife is unable to fulfill the role of hostess, the role may be filled by another female relative. The current First Lady is Michelle Obama.
The First Lady is an unusual position in the US, in that she has a state role, albeit a ceremonial one, without having been directly elected. This situation is far more common in some other countries, such as the United Kingdom, where members of the royal family perform comparable hosting and ceremonial duties.
If a woman (or a homosexual man) were to be elected president, it is possible that there could be a "First Man". However, this has never happened to date, although Hillary Clinton did come reasonably close to election in 2008 (which would have made former President in his own right Bill Clinton the "First Man").
List of First Ladies
- Martha Washington (George Washington)
- Abigail Adams (John Adams)
- Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Thomas Jefferson
- Dolley Madison (James Madison)
- Elizabeth Monroe (James Monroe)
- Louisa Adams (John Quincy Adams)
- Emily Donelson, Niece of Andrew Jackson
- Angelica Van Buren, Daughter-in-law of Martin Van Buren
- Jane Irwin Harrison, Daughter-in-law of William Henry Harrison
- Letitia Tyler (John Tyler)
- Julia Tyler (John Tyler)
- Sarah Polk (James Polk)
- Margaret Taylor (Zachary Taylor)
- Abigail Fillmore (Millard Fillmore)
- Jane Pierce (Franklin Pierce)
- Harriet Lane, Niece of James Buchanan
- Mary Todd Lincoln (Abraham Lincoln)
- Eliza Johnson (Andrew Johnson)
- Julia Grant (Ulysses S. Grant)
- Lucy Hayes (Rutherford B. Hayes)
- Lucretia Garfield (James Garfield)
- Mary Arthur McElroy, Sister of Chester Arthur
- Frances Cleveland Preston (Grover Cleveland)
- Caroline Harrison (Benjamin Harrison)
- Ida McKinley (William McKinley)
- Edith Roosevelt (Theodore Roosevelt)
- Helen Taft (William Howard Taft)
- Ellen Wilson (Woodrow Wilson)
- Edith Wilson (Woodrow Wilson)
- Florence Harding (Warren G. Harding)
- Grace Coolidge (Calvin Coolidge)
- Lou Henry Hoover (Herbert Hoover)
- Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (Franklin Roosevelt)
- Elizabeth Truman (Harry Truman)
- Mamie Eisenhower (Dwight Eisenhower)
- Jacqueline Kennedy (John Kennedy)
- Claudia Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson (Lyndon Johnson)
- Thelma Catherine Ryan "Pat" Nixon (Richard Nixon
- Betty Ford (Gerald Ford)
- Rosalynn Carter (Jimmy Carter)
- Nancy Reagan (Ronald Reagan)
- Barbara Bush (George Bush Sr.)
- Hillary Clinton (Bill Clinton)
- Laura Bush (George W. Bush)
- Michelle Obama (Barack Obama)