First Lady of the United States
Encyclopedia
First Lady of the United States is the 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 most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama
.
, wife of Barack Obama
. At present, there are five living former first ladies: Rosalynn Carter
, wife of Jimmy Carter
; Nancy Reagan
, widow of Ronald Reagan
; Barbara Bush
, wife of George H. W. Bush
; current Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton
, wife of Bill Clinton
, and Laura Bush
, wife of George W. Bush
.
to describe the spouse or hostess of an executive began in the United States. In the early days of the republic, there was not a 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. 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," referring to Mary Todd Lincoln
. 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
. The frequent reporting on Lucy Hayes' 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 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.
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, such as Martha Jefferson Randolph
during Jefferson's presidency
, Emily Donelson
and Sarah Yorke Jackson
during Jackson's, Mary Elizabeth (Taylor) Bliss
during Taylor's
, Mary Harrison McKee
during Harrison's
presidency, upon her mother's passing, and Harriet Lane
during Buchanan's.
The position of the first lady is not an elected one, carries no official duties, and receives no salary. Nonetheless, first ladies have held a highly visible position in U.S. government. The role of the first lady has evolved over the centuries. She is, first and foremost, the hostess of the White House. She organizes and attends official ceremonies and functions of state either along with, or in place of, the president.
Both Martha Washington
and Abigail Adams
gained fame from the Revolutionary War
and were treated as if they were "ladies" of the British royal court. Dolley Madison
popularized the first ladyship by engaging in efforts to assist orphans and women, by dressing in elegant fashions and attracting newspaper coverage, and by risking her life to save iconic treasures during the War of 1812
. Madison set the standard for the ladyship and her actions were the model for nearly every first lady until Eleanor Roosevelt
in the 1930s. Plagued by a paralytic illness
, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was not free to travel around the country, so Mrs. Roosevelt assumed this role. She authored a weekly newspaper column and hosted a radio show. Jacqueline Kennedy added the role of decorator of the White House when she was first lady, engaging in an expansive campaign to restore the White House.
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. Lady Bird Johnson
pioneered environmental protection and beautification; Pat Nixon
encouraged volunteerism and traveled extensively abroad; Betty Ford
supported women's' rights; Rosalynn Carter
aided those with mental disabilities; Nancy Reagan
founded the Just Say No
drug awareness campaign; Barbara Bush
promoted literacy; Hillary Rodham Clinton
sought to reform the healthcare system in the U.S.; and Laura Bush
supported women's' rights groups and encouraged childhood literacy. Michelle Obama
has become known for spearheading legislation on child nutrition.
Clinton was, for a time, given a formal job in the administration. She became a U.S. Senator
from New York in 2001 and is currently the Secretary of State
in the Obama administration. Many first ladies, including Jacqueline Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, and Michelle Obama
have been significant fashion trendsetters. Since the midpoint of the 20th century, the yearly Gallup's most admired man and woman poll
has shown Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Hillary Rodham Clinton as the first ladies who have maintained a strong level of popularity well beyond the end of their time in the White House.
There is a strong tradition against the First Lady holding outside employment while serving as White House hostess. However, some first ladies have exercised a degree of political influence by virtue of being an important adviser to the president. During Hillary Clinton's campaign for election to the U.S. Senate, the couple's daughter Chelsea
took over much of the First Lady's role. Chelsea served as Acting First Lady during the fortnight between her mother's swearing in as a Senator and the end of her father's presidency.
The Office of the First Lady of the United States is accountable to the first lady 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 a chief of staff, press secretary, White House Social Secretary
, Chief Floral Designer
, etc. The Office of the First Lady is an entity of the White House Office, a branch of the Executive Office of the President
. As such, Hillary Clinton's abdication of the office in favor of the couple's daughter, in advance of the former's installation as a United States Senator avoided conflict under the Ineligibility Clause
of the United States Constitution
.
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...
.
Current
The current first lady is Michelle ObamaMichelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...
, wife of Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. At present, there are five living former first ladies: Rosalynn Carter
Rosalynn Carter
Eleanor Rosalynn Carter is the wife of the former President of the United States Jimmy Carter and in that capacity served as the First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981. As First Lady and after, she has been a leading advocate for numerous causes, perhaps most prominently for mental...
, wife of Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
; Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
, widow of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
; Barbara Bush
Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...
, wife of George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
; current Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
, wife of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, and Laura Bush
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She has held a love of books and reading since childhood and her life and education have reflected that interest...
, wife of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
Origins of the title
The use of the title first ladyFirst Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
to describe the spouse or hostess of an executive began in the United States. In the early days of the republic, there was not a 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
Martha Washington
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...
was often referred to as "Lady Washington."
Dolley Madison
Dolley Payne Todd Madison was the spouse of the fourth President of the United States, James Madison, and was First Lady of the United States from 1809 to 1817...
was referred to as "first lady" in 1849 at her funeral in a eulogy delivered by President Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
. However, no written record of this eulogy exists. Sometime after 1849, the title began being used in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, social circles. The earliest known written evidence of the title is from the November 3, 1863, diary entry of William Howard Russell
William Howard Russell
William Howard Russell was an Irish reporter with The Times, and is considered to have been one of the first modern war correspondents, after he spent 22 months covering the Crimean War including the Charge of the Light Brigade.-Career:As a young reporter, Russell reported on a brief military...
, in which he referred to gossip about "the First Lady in the Land," referring to Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Ann Lincoln was the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and was First Lady of the United States from 1861 to 1865.-Life before the White House:...
. The title first gained nationwide recognition in 1877, when newspaper journalist Mary C. Ames
Mary C. Ames
Mary Clemmer Ames American author was born to Abraham Clemmer and Margaret Kneale in Utica, New York. On 7 May 1851 she married the Rev. Daniel Ames, from whom she was divorced in 1874...
referred to Lucy Webb Hayes
Lucy Webb Hayes
Lucille "Lucy" Ware Webb Hayes was a First Lady of the United States and the wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes.Historians have christened her "Lemonade Lucy" due to her staunch support of the temperance movement...
as "the First Lady of the Land" while reporting on the inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
. The frequent reporting on Lucy Hayes' 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 wife of the vice president of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
is sometimes referred to as the second lady of the United States
Second Lady of the United States
Second lady of the United States is an informal title for the wife of the vice president of the United States, coined in contrast to the first lady ....
, but this title is much less common.
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, such as Martha Jefferson Randolph
Martha Jefferson Randolph
Martha Washington Jefferson Randolph was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, and his wife Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson. She was born in Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia and was named in honor of her mother and of Martha Washington, wife of...
during Jefferson's presidency
Presidency of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jeffersons Presidency of the United States, from March 4, 1801 to March 4, 1809, carried out what Jefferson called the "Revolution of 1800", as he attempted to put into action the principles of his Democratic-Republican Party...
, Emily Donelson
Emily Donelson
Emily Donelson was the niece of U.S. President Andrew Jackson. She served as White House hostess and unofficial First Lady of the United States from 1829 to 1834.-Early life and marriage:...
and Sarah Yorke Jackson
Sarah Yorke Jackson
Sarah Yorke Jackson was the daughter-in-law of U.S. President Andrew Jackson. She served as White House hostess and unofficial First Lady of the United States from November 26, 1834 to March 4, 1837....
during Jackson's, Mary Elizabeth (Taylor) Bliss
Mary Elizabeth Bliss
Mary Elizabeth Taylor Bliss was the daughter of President Zachary Taylor and First Lady Margaret Taylor.She served as White House hostess due to her mother's ill health....
during Taylor's
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
, Mary Harrison McKee
Mary Harrison McKee
Mary Scott Harrison McKee was the first lady to her father President Benjamin Harrison, when her mother, Caroline Harrison, was seriously ill and then died....
during Harrison's
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
presidency, upon her mother's passing, and Harriet Lane
Harriet Lane
Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnston , niece of lifelong bachelor United States President James Buchanan, acted as First Lady of the United States from 1857 to 1861. She was one of the few women to hold the position of First Lady while not being married to the President.-Early life:Harriet Lane's family...
during Buchanan's.
Role of the first lady
Burns (2008) identifies four successive main themes of the first ladyship: as public woman (1900–1929); as political celebrity (1932–1961); as political activist (1964–1977); and as political interloper (1980–2001).Both Martha Washington
Martha Washington
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...
and Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, who was the second President of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth...
gained fame from the Revolutionary War
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
and were treated as if they were "ladies" of the British royal court. Dolley Madison
Dolley Madison
Dolley Payne Todd Madison was the spouse of the fourth President of the United States, James Madison, and was First Lady of the United States from 1809 to 1817...
popularized the first ladyship by engaging in efforts to assist orphans and women, by dressing in elegant fashions and attracting newspaper coverage, and by risking her life to save iconic treasures during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. Madison set the standard for the ladyship and her actions were the model for nearly every first lady until Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
in the 1930s. Plagued by a paralytic illness
Franklin D. Roosevelt's paralytic illness
Franklin D. Roosevelt's paralytic illness began in 1921 at age 39, when Roosevelt got a fever after exercising heavily at a vacation in Canada. While his bout with illness was well known during his terms as President of the United States, the extent of his paralysis was kept from public view. After...
, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was not free to travel around the country, so Mrs. Roosevelt assumed this role. She authored a weekly newspaper column and hosted a radio show. Jacqueline Kennedy added the role of decorator of the White House when she was first lady, engaging in an expansive campaign to restore the White House.
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. Lady Bird Johnson
Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 during the presidency of her husband Lyndon B. Johnson. Throughout her life, she was an advocate for beautification of the nation's cities and highways and conservation of natural resources and made that...
pioneered environmental protection and beautification; Pat Nixon
Pat Nixon
Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan Nixon was the wife of Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States, and was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974. She was commonly known as Patricia or Pat Nixon.Born in Nevada, Pat Ryan grew up in Los Angeles, California...
encouraged volunteerism and traveled extensively abroad; Betty Ford
Betty Ford
Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren Ford , better known as Betty Ford, was First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977 during the presidency of her husband Gerald Ford...
supported women's' rights; Rosalynn Carter
Rosalynn Carter
Eleanor Rosalynn Carter is the wife of the former President of the United States Jimmy Carter and in that capacity served as the First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981. As First Lady and after, she has been a leading advocate for numerous causes, perhaps most prominently for mental...
aided those with mental disabilities; Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
founded the Just Say No
Just Say No
"Just Say No" was an advertising campaign, part of the U.S. "War on Drugs", prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s, to discourage children from engaging in recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying no. Eventually, this also expanded the realm of "Just Say No" to violence and...
drug awareness campaign; Barbara Bush
Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...
promoted literacy; Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
sought to reform the healthcare system in the U.S.; and Laura Bush
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She has held a love of books and reading since childhood and her life and education have reflected that interest...
supported women's' rights groups and encouraged childhood literacy. Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...
has become known for spearheading legislation on child nutrition.
Clinton was, for a time, given a formal job in the administration. She became a U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from New York in 2001 and is currently the Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
in the Obama administration. Many first ladies, including Jacqueline Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, and Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...
have been significant fashion trendsetters. Since the midpoint of the 20th century, the yearly Gallup's most admired man and woman poll
Gallup's most admired man and woman poll
Gallup’s most admired man and woman poll is an annual poll that Gallup has conducted at the end of virtually every single year since 1948. Americans are asked, without prompting, to say what man and woman "living today in any part of the world, do [they] admire most?" The result is published as a...
has shown Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Hillary Rodham Clinton as the first ladies who have maintained a strong level of popularity well beyond the end of their time in the White House.
There is a strong tradition against the First Lady holding outside employment while serving as White House hostess. However, some first ladies have exercised a degree of political influence by virtue of being an important adviser to the president. During Hillary Clinton's campaign for election to the U.S. Senate, the couple's daughter Chelsea
Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Victoria Clinton is a television journalist, currently serving as Special Correspondent for NBC News, and philanthropist, working through the Clinton Global Initiative. She is the only child of former U.S...
took over much of the First Lady's role. Chelsea served as Acting First Lady during the fortnight between her mother's swearing in as a Senator and the end of her father's presidency.
Office of the first lady
The Office of the First Lady of the United States is accountable to the first lady 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 a chief of staff, press secretary, White House Social Secretary
White House Social Secretary
The White House Social Secretary is responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of official social events at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States.-Function:...
, Chief Floral Designer
White House Chief Floral Designer
The White House Chief Floral Designer is responsible for the planning, design, arrangement and placement of all floral decorations for the First Family, their private entertaining, and official state functions at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the President of...
, etc. The Office of the First Lady is an entity of the White House Office, a branch of the Executive Office of the President
Executive Office of the President of the United States
The Executive Office of the President consists of the immediate staff of the President of the United States, as well as multiple levels of support staff reporting to the President. The EOP is headed by the White House Chief of Staff, currently William M. Daley...
. As such, Hillary Clinton's abdication of the office in favor of the couple's daughter, in advance of the former's installation as a United States Senator avoided conflict under the Ineligibility Clause
Ineligibility Clause
The Ineligibility Clause, one of the two clauses often called the Emoluments Clause, and sometimes also referred to as the Incompatibility Clause or the Sinecure Clause, is found in Article 1, Section 6, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution...
of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
.
First ladies of the United States
- For a complete list of the first ladies, see List of First Ladies of the United States
See also
- First LadyFirst LadyFirst Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
— Use of the title outside the United States. - Spouse of the Vice President of the United States, or Second Lady
- First Ladies National Historic SiteFirst Ladies National Historic SiteFirst Ladies National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in Canton, Ohio. The site was established in 2000 to commemorate all the United States First Ladies and comprises two buildings: the Ida Saxton McKinley Historic Home and the Education & Research Center.Tours...
— In Canton, OhioCanton, OhioCanton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area... - List of First Ladies of the United States
- List of current United States first spouses
- Viceregal consort of CanadaViceregal consort of CanadaThe viceregal consort of Canada is the spouse of the serving governor general of Canada, assisting the viceroy with ceremonial and charitable work, accompanying him or her to official state occasions, and occasionally undertaking philanthropic work of their own...
Further reading
- Anthony, Carl Sferrazza. First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents Wives and Their Power 1789-1961 (1992) excerpt and text search
- Böck, Magdalena. The Role Of First Ladies: A Comparison Between the US and Europe (2009)
- Burns, Lisa M. First Ladies and the Fourth Estate: Press Framing of Presidential Wives (2008) 205 pp. ISBN 978-0-87580-391-3
- Pastan, Amy. First Ladies (2008), heavily illustrated
- Roberts, John B. Rating The First Ladies: The Women Who Influenced the Presidency (2nd ed. 2004) excerpt and text search
- Troy, Gil. Affairs of State (1997), by leading scholar
- Truman, Margaret. First Ladies: An Intimate Group Portrait of White House Wives (1996) excerpt and text search