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Bio
Abigail Powers Fillmore
Abigail Powers was born in Saratoga County, New York, on March 13, 1798, while it was still a frontier out-post. Her father, a locally prominent Baptist preacher named Lemuel Powers, died shortly thereafter. Courageously, her mother, Abigail, moved on westward, thinking her scanty funds would go further in a less settled region, and ably educated her small son and daughter beyond the
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Bio
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis (Anne Frances Robbins) was born on July 6, 1921, in New York City. Her parents, Kenneth Robbins and Edith Luckett, separated after their daughter’s birth. Anne was sent to live with Edith’s sister, Virginia Gailbraith, and her husband Audley for the next six years. After Edith married Loyal Edward Davis in 1929, she and Anne reunited in Chicago, Illinois. Anne
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Bio
Helen Taft
As “the only unusual incident” of her girlhood, “Nellie” Herron Taft recalled her visit to the White House at 17 as the guest of President and Mrs. Hayes, intimate friends of her parents. Fourth child of Harriet Collins and John W. Herron, born in 1861, she had grown up in Cincinnati, Ohio, attending a private school in the city and studying music with ent
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Bio
Ida McKinley
Ida Saxton was born in Canton, Ohio, on June 8, 1847, to James Saxton and Katherine DeWalt. James A. Saxton, a banker, was indulgent to his two daughters. He educated them well in local schools and a finishing school, and then sent them to Europe on the grand tour. As a young woman, she worked in her father's bank. As a cashier
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Bio
Emily Donelson
Widower Andrew Jackson asked his niece, Emily Donelson, to serve as White House hostess. Born in Tennessee on June 1, 1807, Emily Donelson was the daughter of John and Mary Donelson.1 She married her cousin, Andrew J. Donelson, on September 16, 1824.2 The couple accompanied Andrew and Rachel Jackson to Washington, D.C. shortly after their marriage. They went on to have four children
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Scholarship
Andrew Jackson and Music at the White House
The White House under Andrew Jackson was simpler in its customs, ambience and attitudes than it had been under Adams or Monroe. It was the people’s house with public receptions that opened its doors to one and all. At one of President Jackson’s receptions, the Marine Band played one of the president’s favorite tunes, "Auld Lang Syne," as his
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Scholarship
Artists Perform for the President
The abundance of fine artists who performed during the Theodore Roosevelt era continued to appear during succeeding administrations, and President and Mrs. William Howard Taft and the Woodrow Wilsons molded the popular White House musicale into a well-established tradition. Beginning with the Roosevelts and continuing through the Eisenhowers, Steinway & Sons assisted the First Lady with the selection of the
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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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Papal Visits to the White House
Papal visits to the White House have been rare—with Pope Francis' recent visit, just three popes in history have visited 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. This most recent visit provides an opportunity to look back at the pontiffs who have visited the President’s House. On October 6, 1979, Pope John Paul II arrived in an open-topped limousine, driving through the Northwest gate as he w
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Scholarship
Music and Musical Performances in the White House Timeline
1790s Before the White House was completed in 1800, President George Washington and his wife Martha lived first in New York City, then Philadelphia. Washington enjoyed the theater and liked to dance, especially the minuet, which he danced with great pleasure at his inaugural ball. Read More 1800s President and Mrs. John Adams were the first occupants of the White House
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Scholarship
White House Technology Timeline
1790sInventories of the tools in the stonecutting sheds suggest that some of the stone was sawed, a technique that bypassed usual tooling used to "finish" the stone's surface. The cut resulted in two stones, each with a smooth face. Read More1800sPresident Thomas Jefferson gave orders for the demolition of the outdoor wooden privy and had two water closets installed