decades, adding the records of four more First Ladies since the first edition, it became necessary to cut the previous chapters 11, âPresidential Wives and the Press,â and 12, âThe Women They Married ⦠Some Conclusions.â Those chapters, still relevant in many ways to understanding the curious job of First Lady, can be found in the three prior editions that Oxford University Press published in 1987, 1995, and 2003.
Current usage favors not capitalizing the title of First Lady, but because the preference was different when I started this book more than thirty years ago, I have maintained the usage employed in earlier editionsâI continue to capitalize the title.
Over three decades of association with Oxford University Press, I have had the enthusiastic support of many editors, production staffs, and publicists. But the team on this edition outshines them all. I want to thank Christine Dahlin for overseeing production in this new e-publishing age; Adithi Kasturirangan for attending to marketing in a bleak market time; and Tim Bent and especially Dayne Poshusta, who contributed far more than any author has the right to expect.
B.B.C.
New York City
March 2010
FIRST LADIES
Appendices
I. Presidentsâ Wives Who Served as First Lady
*Date is that of marriage to man who became President. In some cases an earlier (or later) marriage also occurred.
**Terms of First Ladies coincide with the presidential term and run from one inauguration to another except as noted. Until 1937, Presidents assumed the office March 4.
1. Actual birthdate is disputed.
2. William Henry Harrison died one month after taking office, before Anna had arrived in Washington.
3. Letitia Tyler died September 10, 1842.
4. Julia Gardiner married President John Tyler on June 26, 1844, only a few months before his presidential term ended.
5. Zachary Taylor died in office on July 9, 1850.
6. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865.
7. James Garfield died September 19, 1881 after having been shot on July 2.
8. Frances Folsom married President Grover Gleveland on June 2, 1886, after he had taken office in March, 1885. He was defeated for a second consecutive term but was reelected in 1892 and served from 1893 to 1897.
9. Caroline Harrison died in the Executive Mansion, October 25, 1892.
10. William McKinley was assassinated on September 14, 1901, just months after beginning his second term.
11. Ellen Wilson died in the White House on August 6, 1914.
12. Edith Galt married President Woodrow Wilson on December 18, 1915.
13. Warren Harding died in office on August 2, 1923.
14. Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in office on April 12, 1945.
15. John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963.
16. Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency on August 9, 1974.
II. Historiansâ Ranking of First Ladies in 1982
This poll was conducted in 1982 by Professors Thomas Kelly and Douglas Lonnstrom, Directors of the Siena Research Institute, Siena College, Loudonville, New York. History professors in 102 colleges were asked to rate the First Ladies. In another poll, conducted by the Siena Research Institute in 1981, political scientists and historians were asked to rank presidents on a different scale. (See results in Appendix III .) The list above merges the results of the two polls, with scores rounded to the nearest tenth of 1 percent. It should be emphasized that both polls were conducted early in the first Reagan administration. No explanation was given for including some of the women who served as First Lady although not married to a president, such as Mary Arthur McElroy, Chester Arthurâs sister, and excluding others, such as Rose Cleveland, Grover Glevelandâs sister. The author is grateful to the Siena Research Institute for sharing this data.
* In the Tyler and Wilson administrations, the first wife of the respective presidents died and both men remarried while in office. In the Andrew Johnson
Current usage favors not capitalizing the title of First Lady, but because the preference was different when I started this book more than thirty years ago, I have maintained the usage employed in earlier editionsâI continue to capitalize the title.
Over three decades of association with Oxford University Press, I have had the enthusiastic support of many editors, production staffs, and publicists. But the team on this edition outshines them all. I want to thank Christine Dahlin for overseeing production in this new e-publishing age; Adithi Kasturirangan for attending to marketing in a bleak market time; and Tim Bent and especially Dayne Poshusta, who contributed far more than any author has the right to expect.
B.B.C.
New York City
March 2010
FIRST LADIES
Appendices
I. Presidentsâ Wives Who Served as First Lady
*Date is that of marriage to man who became President. In some cases an earlier (or later) marriage also occurred.
**Terms of First Ladies coincide with the presidential term and run from one inauguration to another except as noted. Until 1937, Presidents assumed the office March 4.
1. Actual birthdate is disputed.
2. William Henry Harrison died one month after taking office, before Anna had arrived in Washington.
3. Letitia Tyler died September 10, 1842.
4. Julia Gardiner married President John Tyler on June 26, 1844, only a few months before his presidential term ended.
5. Zachary Taylor died in office on July 9, 1850.
6. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865.
7. James Garfield died September 19, 1881 after having been shot on July 2.
8. Frances Folsom married President Grover Gleveland on June 2, 1886, after he had taken office in March, 1885. He was defeated for a second consecutive term but was reelected in 1892 and served from 1893 to 1897.
9. Caroline Harrison died in the Executive Mansion, October 25, 1892.
10. William McKinley was assassinated on September 14, 1901, just months after beginning his second term.
11. Ellen Wilson died in the White House on August 6, 1914.
12. Edith Galt married President Woodrow Wilson on December 18, 1915.
13. Warren Harding died in office on August 2, 1923.
14. Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in office on April 12, 1945.
15. John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963.
16. Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency on August 9, 1974.
II. Historiansâ Ranking of First Ladies in 1982
This poll was conducted in 1982 by Professors Thomas Kelly and Douglas Lonnstrom, Directors of the Siena Research Institute, Siena College, Loudonville, New York. History professors in 102 colleges were asked to rate the First Ladies. In another poll, conducted by the Siena Research Institute in 1981, political scientists and historians were asked to rank presidents on a different scale. (See results in Appendix III .) The list above merges the results of the two polls, with scores rounded to the nearest tenth of 1 percent. It should be emphasized that both polls were conducted early in the first Reagan administration. No explanation was given for including some of the women who served as First Lady although not married to a president, such as Mary Arthur McElroy, Chester Arthurâs sister, and excluding others, such as Rose Cleveland, Grover Glevelandâs sister. The author is grateful to the Siena Research Institute for sharing this data.
* In the Tyler and Wilson administrations, the first wife of the respective presidents died and both men remarried while in office. In the Andrew Johnson
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