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Lynda Johnson Robb
Robb’s passionate interest in children’s literature led her more than 50 years ago to volunteer to read to children in hospitals, where she discovered that many children wanted and needed books so badly that hospital staff let them take home the books she brought to read. This experience prompted her involvement in 1968 to become a founding member of the Boar
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Digital Library Exhibit
Glamour and Innovation: Frankie Welch
Frankie Welch was one of the first designers to design “across the aisle,” creating gowns and scarves for first ladies Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, and Rosalynn Carter. After earning a degree in clothing and design at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, Welch relocated with her husband to Virginia, where she taught “clothes coordination” classes at the Universi
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Digital Library Exhibit
Diplomatic Children’s Parties
For over 25 years, the White House holiday season featured an annual party for the children of diplomats. During their heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, the parties were hosted by the first lady and typically attended by over 400 children under the age of twelve, representing over 80 countries. Between 1962 and 1985, National Geographic photographers captured images from several of these parties for
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Digital Library Exhibit
Something Old, Something New: Eight First Daughters’ Fashionable White House Weddings
Something Old, Something New: Eight First Daughters’ Fashionable White House Weddings highlights the glamorous weddings of eight women who took their vows at the White House over two centuries and how their bridal fashion reflects both the taste of each era and their own personal styles. This exhibit was curated by Jillian Staricka, the 2023 Digital Exhibits Intern and MA student in
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Bio
Claudia Johnson
Claudia Alta Taylor was born in Karnack, Texas, on December 22, 1912. She was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Taylor and Minnie Lee Pattillo Taylor. Her nickname, “Lady Bird,” came from Alice Tittle, a nursemaid who remarked that she was “as purty as a lady bird.”1 After graduating high school, Lady Bird attended St. Mary’s Episcopal School for Girls, a junior college in
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Bio
Ronald Reagan
Through Ronald Reagan's eight years in office, the cold war came to an end, the country seemed to regain its morale, and Americans enjoyed an extended economic boom.Ronald Wilson Reagan was born to John Reagan, a shoe salesman, and his wife Nelle in Tampico, Illinois, on February 6, 1911. He worked his way through Eureka College. There, he played on the
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Bio
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884, in New York City. She was the oldest child of Elliot Roosevelt and Anna Hall. She lost both parents by the age of ten.1 Following the death of her mother, she was raised by her maternal grandmother, Mary Hall, and later attended a private London finishing school called Allenswood Academy. In 1902, Eleanor returned
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Bio
Rosalynn Carter
Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born in Plains, Georgia, on August 18, 1927, to Allethea “Allie” and Wilburn Edgar Smith. As the oldest child, Rosalynn helped her mother manage the household and raise her three siblings following Wilburn’s death when she was thirteen years old.1 In 1944, she graduated from Plains High School as the valedictorian and then graduated from Georgia Southwestern College in 194
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Bio
Lyndon B. Johnson
A "Great Society" for the American people was the vision of Lyndon Johnson. As president, he obtained passage of one of the most significant legislative programs in the nation's history, but found his presidency overwhelmed by opposition to his war in Vietnam.Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, in central Texas, not far from Johnson City, which his family had helped
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Scholarship
Examples of State Dinners Throughout History
December 22, 1874: First State Dinner for a foreign head of state King David Kalakaua of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Hosted by President Ulysses S. Grant, the king had royal food testers to sample the more than 20-course White House dinner. 1902: The Roosevelt renovation included a major expansion of the State Dining Room from entertaining approximately 40 guests to the accommodation of 120 people.
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Scholarship
The Presidential Sweet Tooth
As the holidays approach, thoughts inevitably turn to sugar plums, gingerbread, and all of the other delectable treats that season brings with it. Sweets signal the changing of seasons and the arrival of holidays, from cookies at Christmas to popsicles in the heat of summer. The same is true at the White House, where presidents and their families have enjoyed