Main Content

The 1600 Sessions: Back to Basics - White House History with David Rubenstein

The 1600 Sessions: Back to Basics - White House History with David Rubenstein

In this special episode of The 1600 Sessions, we turn the tables on our podcast’s usual format. Financier and philanthropist David Rubenstein takes his turn asking more than 50 questions on White House history to White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin. They cover all the basics as well as some of the fun facts you probably didn't know, like which presidents installed the bowling alley and the swimming pool. Test your own history knowledge through this wide-ranging conversation with two White House experts.

Date of Work
August 19, 2019
Credit
White House Historical Association

Share

Related

Related
Next Where Hospitality Makes History: State Visits

You Might Also Like

  • Article

    Where Hospitality Makes History: State Visits

    Since World War II, an ever-lengthening procession of foreign leaders has come to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to confer on global problems. These dignitaries are often formally entertained at the White House, and an invitation to attend such a function is highly coveted. Certainly a State Dinner to honor a visiting head of government or a reigning monarch is one of the

  • Event

    History Happy Hour: Eliza Scidmore - From Early White House Reporting to Washington’s Cherry Trees

    Eliza Scidmore earned her journalistic stripes as a “society writer” in Gilded Age Washington, reporting from the White House and around the nation’s capital. Fired by a spirit of adventure, she took up travel writing, educating Americans about little-known places like Alaska and Japan. In her best-known legacy, Scidmore carried home from Japan the idea of planting cherry-blossom trees along

  • Video

    Protest at the White House

    There is a rich history of protests and demonstrations at the White House and Lafayette Park, from the suffragists' silent pickets to a peace vigil that has spanned across decades. For more short, educational videos from the White House Historical Association, click here. For our education resource about protest at the White House, click here. For more information about this

  • Video

    First Ladies

    The role of the First Lady of the United States has changed over the years. These women have shaped the White House as well as the nation. For more short, educational videos from the White House Historical Association, click here. To learn more about the evolving roles of the first lady, click here. For information and short biographies about all

  • Video

    Presidential Transportation

    U.S. Presidential transportation has evolved over time, from George Washington's horse-drawn carriage to the modern "Air Force One" and "The Beast." For more short, educational videos from the White House Historical Association, click here. For our educational resource about transportation and the White House, click here. This video was produced in partnership with UNTOLD. Untold is a project of

  • Video

    Building the White House

    The White House stands as a symbol of freedom, but the story behind its construction reveals some important contradictions. For more short, educational videos from the White House Historical Association, click here. For more information about the design, building, and rebuilding of the White House, click here. For more information about Slavery in the President's Neighborhood research initiative, click here.

  • Press Release

    NEW Virtual White House Springtime Scavenger Hunt and 360 Tour of the White House

    The White House Historical Association is offering a new Virtual White House Springtime scavenger hunt as a compliment to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. These virtual activities can be completed online at whitehousehistory.org for a chance to win an Official 2024 White House Easter Egg Set. The Virtual White House Springtime scavenger hunt uses a 360-degree virtual tour

  • Event

    Easter Book Signing and Meet the Authors

    Please join the White House Historical Association as they host authors Jonathan Pliska and Rocco Smirne throughout the day on Easter Monday at the White House Visitor Center. Presigned copies of Gigi at the White House! by Giovanna McBride will also be available!

  • Video

    White House History with Margaret Brennan: Women in Diplomacy

    The White House Historical Association's 2024 quarterly series White House History with Margaret Brennan will feature four conversations dealing with various topics about the rich history of the Executive Mansion. The White House Historical Association will launch the series on March 21, 2024. This year’s theme is Diplomacy and the White House, and this event will explore the topic of Women in Di

  • Event

    History Happy Hour: The Undiplomat

    Deesha Dyer, once a hip-hop journalist and community leader, didn’t expect her path to eventually lead to the White House. Dyer applied for a White House Internship in 2009 as a thirty-one-year-old part-time community college student. This opportunity led to a full-time position and two promotions, later culminating in a more prominent and exclusive role: social secretary at the White Ho

  • Press Release

    White House Historical Association Honors Designer and Builder of the White House

    The White House Historical Association placed a wreath at the gravesite of James Hoban, Irish immigrant and the designer and builder of the White House, on Thursday, March 21 at 11:00AM at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C. In 2021, the Association restored the gravesite of Hoban and has held an annual wreath placement ceremony every year since. See images from

  • Press Release

    NEW Episode: The White House 1600 Sessions Podcast “America’s Irish Roots”

    The White House Historical Association released a new episode of The White House 1600 Sessions podcast today featuring a conversation on the history between Ireland and the United States, and the relationship between the two countries beyond the month of March and St. Patrick’s Day. In this episode, Stewart McLaurin, president of the Association, sits down with Geraldine Byrne Nason, Am