Margaret Truman
Encyclopedia
Mary Margaret Truman Daniel (February 17, 1924January 29, 2008), also known as Margaret Truman or Margaret Daniel, was an American singer who later became a successful writer. The only child of US President Harry S. Truman
, she was "a witty, hard-working Midwestern girl with singing talent who was neither particularly pretty nor terribly plain."
, she was christened Mary Margaret Truman (for her aunt Mary Jane Truman and maternal grandmother Margaret Gates Wallace) but was called Margaret from early childhood.
She attended school in Independence until her father's 1934 election to the U.S. Senate, after which she split time between schools in Washington D.C. and Independence. In 1942 she matriculated at George Washington University
, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi
, and earning a B.A. in History degree in 1946. In June 1944 she christened the battleship USS Missouri
(named for her home state) at Brooklyn Navy Yard
; in 1986 she spoke at the ship's recommissioning.
On April 21, 1956 Truman married New York Times
reporter (and later editor) Clifton Daniel
in Independence; he died in 2000. They had four sons:
In later life Truman lived in her Park Avenue
home. She died on January 29, 2008 in Chicago (to which she was relocating to be nearer her son Clifton). She was said to have been suffering from "a simple infection" and had been breathing with the assistance of a respirator. Her ashes, and those of her husband, were interred in Independence, in her parents' burial plot on the grounds of the Truman Library.
music critic Paul Hume
wrote that Truman was “extremely attractive on the stage... [but] cannot sing very well. She is flat a good deal of the time. And still cannot sing with anything approaching professional finish,” President Truman wrote to Hume, "Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!" A 1951 Time Magazine cover featured Truman with a single musical note floating by her head. She performed on stage, radio, and television until the mid-1950s.
Truman joined NBC Radio's Weekday show that premiered in 1955, shortly after its Monitor
program made its debut,
Paired with Mike Wallace
, she presented news and interviews aimed at a female listening audience.
She appeared several times as a panelist (and once as a mystery guest) on the game show What's My Line?
and guest-starred more than once on NBC
's The Martha Raye Show
.
In 1957, she sang and played piano The Gisele MacKenzie Show
Truman's full-length biography of her father, published shortly before his death, was critically acclaimed. She also wrote a personal biography of her mother, histories of the White House
and its inhabitants (including first ladies
and pets), and a critically successful series of murder mysteries set in and around Washington, D.C. (though there have been denied allegations these mysteries were ghostwritten, perhaps by Donald Bain
or William Harrington).
Truman published regularly into her eighties. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Harry S Truman Presidential Library and Museum and the Board of Governors of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute
.
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
, she was "a witty, hard-working Midwestern girl with singing talent who was neither particularly pretty nor terribly plain."
Biography
Born in Independence, MissouriIndependence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
, she was christened Mary Margaret Truman (for her aunt Mary Jane Truman and maternal grandmother Margaret Gates Wallace) but was called Margaret from early childhood.
She attended school in Independence until her father's 1934 election to the U.S. Senate, after which she split time between schools in Washington D.C. and Independence. In 1942 she matriculated at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi
Pi Beta Phi
Pi Beta Phi is an international fraternity for women founded as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Its headquarters are located in Town and Country, Missouri, and there are 134 active chapters and over 330 alumnae organizations across the United States and...
, and earning a B.A. in History degree in 1946. In June 1944 she christened the battleship USS Missouri
USS Missouri (BB-63)
|USS Missouri is a United States Navy Iowa-class battleship, and was the fourth ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Missouri...
(named for her home state) at Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
; in 1986 she spoke at the ship's recommissioning.
On April 21, 1956 Truman married New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reporter (and later editor) Clifton Daniel
Clifton Daniel
Elbert Clifton Daniel Jr. was managing editor of the New York Times from 1964 to 1969. Before assuming the top editorial job at the paper, he served as the paper's London and Moscow bureau chief....
in Independence; he died in 2000. They had four sons:
- Clifton Truman Daniel (born 1957), now Director of Public Relations for Harry S Truman CollegeHarry S Truman CollegeHarry S Truman College, popularly called Truman College and formerly called Mayfair College, is a city college of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. Located at 1145 West Wilson Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood, the school was named in honor of U.S...
. - William Wallace Daniel (1959–2000), a psychiatric social worker and researcher at Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
who died after being struck by a New York City taxicab. - Harrison Gates Daniel (born 1963)
- Thomas Washington Daniel (born 1966)
In later life Truman lived in her Park Avenue
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
home. She died on January 29, 2008 in Chicago (to which she was relocating to be nearer her son Clifton). She was said to have been suffering from "a simple infection" and had been breathing with the assistance of a respirator. Her ashes, and those of her husband, were interred in Independence, in her parents' burial plot on the grounds of the Truman Library.
Career
After operatic vocal training, Truman's singing career began with a debut radio recital in March 1947. Reviewers were not always kind, but her father was fiercely protective: when in 1950 Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
music critic Paul Hume
Paul Hume
Paul Chandler Hume was the music editor for the Washington Post from 1946 to 1982.-Career:...
wrote that Truman was “extremely attractive on the stage... [but] cannot sing very well. She is flat a good deal of the time. And still cannot sing with anything approaching professional finish,” President Truman wrote to Hume, "Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!" A 1951 Time Magazine cover featured Truman with a single musical note floating by her head. She performed on stage, radio, and television until the mid-1950s.
Truman joined NBC Radio's Weekday show that premiered in 1955, shortly after its Monitor
Monitor (NBC Radio)
NBC Monitor was an American weekend radio program broadcast from June 12, 1955, until January 26, 1975. Airing live and nationwide on the NBC Radio Network, it originally aired beginning Saturday morning at 8am and continuing through the weekend until 12 midnight on Sunday...
program made its debut,
Paired with Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
, she presented news and interviews aimed at a female listening audience.
She appeared several times as a panelist (and once as a mystery guest) on the game show What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
and guest-starred more than once on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's The Martha Raye Show
The Martha Raye Show
The Martha Raye Show is an hour-long comedy/variety show which aired live on NBC from January 23, 1954, to May 29, 1956. The series was hosted by the late Martha Raye, a Montana native, who often called herself "The Big Mouth." Her boyfriend on the program and a foil for her humor was portrayed by...
.
In 1957, she sang and played piano The Gisele MacKenzie Show
The Gisele MacKenzie Show
The Gisele MacKenzie Show in an American variety show hosted by Gisele MacKenzie. The series aired live on NBC from September 28, 1957, to March 29, 1958. The Curfew Kids appeared on the program as semi-regulars....
Truman's full-length biography of her father, published shortly before his death, was critically acclaimed. She also wrote a personal biography of her mother, histories of the White House
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...
and its inhabitants (including first ladies
First Lady of the United States
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.-Current:The...
and pets), and a critically successful series of murder mysteries set in and around Washington, D.C. (though there have been denied allegations these mysteries were ghostwritten, perhaps by Donald Bain
Donald Bain (writer)
Donald Bain is a United States author and ghostwriter, having written over 80 books in his 40-year career. A graduate of Purdue University, he is the recipient of many writing awards. Bain is a professional jazz musician as well as a writer. He is married to Renée Paley-Bain, who is also a writer...
or William Harrington).
Truman published regularly into her eighties. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Harry S Truman Presidential Library and Museum and the Board of Governors of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute
The Roosevelt Institute is a progressive non-profit organization devoted to carrying forward the legacy and values of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt by developing progressive ideas and bold leadership in the service of restoring America's health and security...
.
Fiction
| Book | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Murder in the White House 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... (Filmed as Murder at 1600 Murder at 1600 Murder at 1600 is a 1997 thriller film starring Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane, Dennis Miller, Ronny Cox, Daniel Benzali, and Alan Alda. The 1600 in the title refers to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the address of the White House. The film is based on the novel Murder in the White House by Margaret Truman,... starring Wesley Snipes Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles... ) |
1980 | ISBN 0-87795-245-0 |
| Murder on Capitol Hill | 1981 | ISBN 0-87795-312-0 |
| Murder in the Supreme Court Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases... |
1982 | ISBN 0-87795-384-8 |
| Murder in the Smithsonian | 1983 | ISBN 0-87795-475-5 |
| Murder on Embassy Row Embassy Row Embassy Row is the informal name for a street or area of a city in which embassies or other diplomatic installations are concentrated. Washington, D.C.'s Embassy Row lies along Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., and its cross streets between Thomas Circle and Ward Circle, although the vast majority of... |
1984 | ISBN 0-87795-594-8 |
| Murder at the FBI | 1985 | ISBN 0-87795-680-4 |
| Murder in Georgetown Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years... |
1986 | ISBN 0-87795-797-5 |
| Murder in the CIA | 1987 | ISBN 0-394-55795-6 |
| Murder at the Kennedy Center | 1989 | ISBN 0-394-57602-0 |
| Murder at the National Cathedral | 1990 | ISBN 0-394-57603-9 |
| Murder at the Pentagon The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect... |
1992 | ISBN 0-394-57604-7 |
| Murder on the Potomac Potomac River The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles... |
1994 | ISBN 0-679-43309-0 |
| Murder at the National Gallery National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC... |
1996 | ISBN 0-679-43530-1 |
| Murder in the House United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution... |
1997 | ISBN 0-679-43528-X |
| Murder at the Watergate Watergate complex The Watergate complex is a group of five buildings next to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. in the United States. The site contains an office building, three apartment buildings, and a hotel-office building... |
1998 | ISBN 0-679-43535-2 |
| Murder at the Library of Congress Library of Congress The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and... |
1999 | ISBN 0-375-50068-5 |
| Murder in Foggy Bottom Foggy Bottom Foggy Bottom is one of the oldest late 18th and 19th-century neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. The area is thought to have received the name because its riverside location made it susceptible to concentrations of fog and industrial smoke, an atmospheric trait that did not prevent the neighborhood... |
2000 | ISBN 0-375-50069-3 |
| Murder in Havana Havana Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous... |
2001 | ISBN 0-375-50070-7 |
| Murder at Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a historic theater in Washington, D.C., used for various stage performances beginning in the 1860s. It is also the site of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865... |
2002 | ISBN 0-345-44489-2 |
| Murder at Union Station Union Station (Washington, D.C.) Washington Union Station is a train station and leisure destination visited by 32 million people each year in the center of Washington, D.C. The train station is served by Amtrak, MARC and Virginia Railway Express commuter rail services as well as by Washington Metro subway trains and local buses... |
2004 | ISBN 0-345-44490-6 |
| Murder at the Washington Tribune | 2005 | ISBN 0-345-47819-3 |
| Murder at the Opera Washington National Opera The Washington National Opera is an opera company in Washington, D.C., USA. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performances are now given in the Opera House of the John F... |
2006 | ISBN 0-345-47821-5 |
| Murder on K Street K Street (Washington, D.C.) K Street is a major thoroughfare in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. known as a center for numerous think tanks, lobbyists, and advocacy groups.-Location:... |
2007 | ISBN 0-345-49886-0 |
| Murder inside the Beltway Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway) Interstate 495 is a Interstate Highway that surrounds the United States' capital of Washington, D.C., and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. I-495 is widely known as the Capital Beltway or simply the Beltway, especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear... |
2008 | ISBN 0-345-49888-7 |
Non-fiction
| Book | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Souvenir, Margaret Truman's Own Story | 1956 | |
| White House Pets | 1969 | |
| Harry S. Truman | 1973 | ISBN 0-688-00005-3 |
| Women of Courage | 1976 | ISBN 0-688-03038-6 |
| Letters From Father: The Truman Family's Personal Correspondence | 1981 | ISBN 0-87795-313-9 |
| Bess W. Truman | 1986 | ISBN 0-02-529470-9 |
| Where The Buck Stops: The Personal and Private Writings of Harry S. Truman | 1989 | ISBN 0-446-51494-2 |
| First Ladies | 1995 | ISBN 0-679-43439-9 |
| The President's House: 1800 to the Present | 2004 | ISBN 0-345-47248-9 |
| The Life Of A White House Girl | 2003 |