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First Ladies Who Am I? First Lady #1 First Lady #1 I wrote a newspaper column called “My Day.” First Lady #1 My husband was a distant cousin of mine. First Lady #1 I was much more publicly involved in politics and the press than any first lady before me. After my husband’s death, I even worked with the United Nations to continue my efforts. First Lady #1 Eleanor Roosevelt wife of Franklin Roosevelt First Lady #2 First Lady #2 I was the last first lady to be born in the 1800s. First Lady #2 In 1952, I wrote an article titled “Vote for My Husband or for Governor Stevenson, but Please Vote” for Good Housekeeping magazine. First Lady #2 My birth name was Marie Geneva Doud, but I preferred to be called “Mamie.” First Lady #2 Mamie Eisenhower wife of Dwight David Eisenhower First Lady #3 First Lady #3 I married my first husband when I was 19. His name was Daniel Parke Custis. First Lady #3 I was widowed and married my second husband when I was 27. He later became president. First Lady #3 We lived on an estate called Mount Vernon. First Lady #3 Martha Custis Washington wife of George Washington First Lady #4 First Lady #4 I obtained a graduate degree from University of Southern California. I was the first lady to earn this level of education. First Lady #4 I was also the first lady in more than 108 years not to wear a hat at my husband’s swearing-in ceremonies. First Lady #4 My birth name was Thelma Catherine Ryan. However, when my father died, I chose to go by “Pat.” First Lady #4 Patricia “Pat” Nixon wife of Richard Nixon First Lady #5 First Lady #5 I was the first woman to be called “first lady” in the media. First Lady #5 My father’s name was Robert Smith Todd. He was, among other things, an officer in the War of 1812. First Lady #5 I had a difficult life; three of my four children passed away when they were still young, and I witnessed my husband’s murder in a theater. First Lady #5 Mary Todd Lincoln wife of Abraham Lincoln First Lady #6 First Lady #6 I met my husband when we were attending Stanford University. I was the first woman to ever receive a degree in geology there. First Lady #6 I was fluent in five languages, including Mandarin Chinese. I also made the first comprehensive list of historic items housed inside the White House. First Lady #6 I loved the outdoors, and this led me to become a leader in the Girl Scouts Organization. First Lady #6 Lou Hoover wife of Herbert Hoover First Lady #7 First Lady #7 My first formal job was as a lunchtime model of young women’s clothing at the department store Herpolsheimer’s. First Lady #7 I hurt my neck opening a window in 1964, and this caused my doctor to prescribe various pain medications. I soon became dependent on painkillers. First Lady #7 I was made first lady under unprecedented circumstances: my husband took office after the incumbent president resigned. First Lady #7 Betty Ford wife of Gerald Ford First Lady #8 First Lady #8 I was born a Quaker but became Episcopalian after my marriage to a non-Quaker. First Lady #8 I hosted the first inaugural ball. Four hundred guests attended the dance and dinner event. First Lady #8 I famously saved the large portrait of George Washington before the White House was burned by the British. First Lady #8 Dolley Madison wife of James Madison First Lady #9 First Lady #9 I married my husband, a junior grade navy lieutenant pilot, when I was 19 years old. First Lady #9 I worked very hard on promoting literacy in America. First Lady #9 In addition to being the wife of a president, I am also the mother of a president. First Lady #9 Barbara Bush wife of George H. W. Bush and mother of George W. Bush First Lady #10 First Lady #10 During his presidency, I traveled extensively on international trips of my own and met with many world leaders on my husband’s behalf. First Lady #10 I was the first wife of a presidential candidate to formally make a campaign promise: I would advocate for the country’s mentally ill population. First Lady #10 I managed the finances of my husband’s peanut business after his father passed away and left it to us. First Lady #10 Rosalynn Carter wife of Jimmy Carter First Lady #11 First Lady #11 I have two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Texas, one in history and one in journalism. First Lady #11 My legal name is Claudia, but no one called me that since childhood. First Lady #11 I named my two children to have the initials LBJ like my husband and I do. First Lady #11 Lady Bird Johnson wife of Lyndon B. Johnson First Lady #12 First Lady #12 Despite having no formal schooling myself, I passionately advocated for the education of girls in the public school system. First Lady #12 I often included advice regarding political matters in my many letters to my husband, and he often followed my advice. First Lady #12 I was the first woman to be both wife of a president and mother of a president. First Lady #12 Abigail Adams wife of John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams First Lady #13 First Lady #13 I have a degree in dramatic arts from Smith College. First Lady #13 I was my husband’s second wife. First Lady #13 I was very involved in promoting drug prevention programs for children, which used the slogan “Just say no.” First Lady #13 Nancy Reagan wife of Ronald Reagan First Lady #14 First Lady #14 My husband claimed to have first fallen in love with me when we were young children. After turning down his first proposal in 1911, we married in 1919 when I was 34 years old. First Lady #14 I was second lady for only a few months, before the incumbent president passed away, and I became first lady at the age of 60. First Lady #14 Our daughter Margaret loved to sing. First Lady #14 Bess Truman wife of Harry Truman First Lady #15 First Lady #15 The Washington Times-Herald hired me to interview and photograph local residents after I completed college. First Lady #15 I started the White House Historical Association and created the position of White House Curator to maintain the historical integrity of the White House. First Lady #15 I wore a large pillbox hat at my husband’s inauguration. First Lady #15 Jacqueline Kennedy wife of John F. Kennedy First Lady #16 First Lady #16 My husband’s first wife, Ellen, died in the White House. He married me less than a year and a half later. First Lady #16 Eleven months after our marriage, he was re-elected, but life was stressful, as the nation was about to enter World War I. First Lady #16 In October of 1919, my husband suffered a stroke, and I helped him maintain the presidency for the rest of the term. First Lady #16 Edith Wilson second wife of Thomas Woodrow Wilson First Lady #17 First Lady #17 I worked as a second-grade teacher and as a school librarian in Houston, Texas. First Lady #17 I am the only first lady to be the mother of twins. First Lady #17 Similar to my mother-in-law when she was first lady, I was a big advocate for better education in America. I spoke a great deal to promote my husband’s No Child Left Behind Act. First Lady #17 Laura Bush wife of George W. Bush First Lady #18 First Lady #18 In my sophomore year at the University of Vermont, I was elected vice president of my class. First Lady #18 When President Warren G. Harding passed away on August 2, 1923, my husband became president. First Lady #18 Occasionally, my husband would be overcome with social anxiety and was known sometimes to go silent during conversations. Being more extroverted myself, some say my presence helped calm him. First Lady #18 Grace Coolidge wife of Calvin Coolidge First Lady #19 First Lady #19 My first husband abandoned my son and me, so I divorced him. I married my second husband, the owner of the Marion Star newspaper, when I was 30 years old. First Lady #19 As first lady, when I felt sugar prices got too high for the average household, I encouraged a national boycott. First Lady #19 My husband died while in office, and the public later learned about his involvement with the Teapot Dome Scandal. First Lady #19 Florence Harding wife of Warren G. Harding First Lady #20 First Lady #20 I was never married to a president… just his son Abraham. First Lady #20 My husband’s mother passed away 18 years before my father-in-law became president. He had no daughters or female relatives to play the role of first lady for the first 20 months of the presidency. First Lady #20 My father-in-law Martin served only one term and was not re-elected in 1840. First Lady #20 Angelica Rebecca Singleton Van Buren daughter-in-law of Martin Van Buren First Lady #21 First Lady #21 I helped organize my husband’s presidential campaign and acted as one of his political advisors. First Lady #21 My friends called me by my nickname “Nellie.” First Lady #21 More than 3,000 Japanese cherry blossom trees were planted in Washington, D.C., under my instruction.
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