Featured The Life and Presidency of Herbert Hoover
The 2016 White House Christmas ornament honors the administration of the thirty-first president of the United States Herbert Hoover, who served...
The White House Gets Electric Lighting, 1891
How Long? 1 minute
Electric lighting was installed in the White House in 1891. Few people at the time had enough faith in electric lighting to use it exclusively-its use was barely a decade old. The electrical work at the White House was planned as part of a well-funded project for wiring the State, War & Navy building next door. The Edison company installed a generator for both buildings that was put in the State, War & Navy's basement, with the wires strung across the lawn and introduced into the White House under the conservatory. The relatively new method of illumination was initially intended to be only a supplement to gaslight. Wires were buried in the plaster, with round switches installed in each room for turning the current on and off. President and Mrs. Harrison refused to operate the switches because they feared being shocked and left the operation of the electric lights to the domestic staff.
A light fixture converted from gas to electricity, c. 1899.
You Might Also Like
-
-
Presidents' Day at the White House
Just how does the president celebrate Presidents’ Day? Throughout the more than 200-year history of the White House, presidents themselves ha...
-
Presidents and the Hey Day of Horse Racing in the Federal City
President Richard M. Nixon was the first sitting president to attend the Kentucky Derby on May 3, 1969. In his party that...
-
The American Presidents and Shakespeare
On April 23, 1932, Shakespeare-lovers from around the country flocked to Washington, D.C., to attend the dedication of the handsome new...
-
Presidents and College Football
Nearly 150 years after its beginnings college football season is in full swing. The sport has attracted countless players and even...
-
Secret Service and the Presidents
Historian William Seale has described presidential protection as a learning process, with presidents and their families and the Secret Service...
-
Presidents and the Potomac
For the politicians, civil servants, and accompanying citizenry of the new federal government—freshly arrived in 1800 from comfortable, sophisticated Philadelphia—the...
-
The Presidents Timeline
GEORGE WASHINGTON | 1789-1797 JOHN ADAMS | 1797-1801 THOMAS JEFFERSON | 1801-1809 JAMES MADISON | 1809-1817 JAMES MONROE | 1817-1825 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS | 1825-1829 ANDREW...
-
The Presidents Speak
TEACHER'S TEXTIn a democracy, the people speak at the ballot box. Their votes send a message to representatives at all...
-
Presidential Valets
Throughout the history of the presidency, a president’s clothing choices have been influenced by a number of factors. Personal ba...
-
Livery at the White House
On Saturday, October 24, 1903, the sensationalist New York World reported that President Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary, William Loeb Jr., outfitted the me...
-
Nell Arthur's Memorial Window
Stained glass, a medieval art, was revisited in the historically retrospective nineteenth century. The art was a prominent feature of...