List of United States First Lady firsts

This list lists achievements and distinctions of various First Ladies of the United States. It includes distinctions achieved in their earlier life and post-First Lady service.

According to the White House and the National First Ladies' Library, there have been forty-five First Ladies and forty-six First Ladyships. This discrepancy exists because President Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms and is counted chronologically as both the twenty-second and the twenty-fourth president; his wife Frances Folsom Cleveland is also counted twice.

Also note that First Ladies not recognized by the National First Ladies' Library listing include Martha Jefferson Randolph, Emily Donelson, Sarah Yorke Jackson, Angelica Van Buren, Priscilla Tyler, Mary McElroy, Rose Cleveland, Mary McKee, and Margaret Woodrow Wilson.

Martha Washington

• First First Lady.^[1]

Abigail Adams

• First First Lady to live in the White House.^[2]

Dolley Madison

• First First Lady given an honorary seat on the floor of Congress.^[3]
• First First Lady (and first American) to respond to a telegraph message.^[3]

Louisa Adams

• First First Lady born outside of the United States.^[4]
• First First Lady to have both houses of the United States Congress adjourn in mourning on the day of her funeral.^[5]

Anna Harrison

• First First Lady to be widowed while holding the title.^[6]

Letitia Tyler

• First First Lady to die in the White House ^[7]

Julia Tyler

• First First Lady to marry a President who was already in office at the time of the wedding.^[8]

Julia Grant

• First First Lady recorded on film.^[9]
• First First Lady to write her memoirs.^[9]

Lucy Hayes

• First First Lady to earn a college degree.^[10]

Frances Cleveland

• First First Lady to marry in the White House.^[11]
• First First Lady to have a child in the White House.
• First First Lady to remarry after widowing.

Helen Louise Taft

• First First Lady to own and drive a car.^[3]
• First First Lady to ride in her husband’s inaugural parade.^[3]
• First First Lady to support women's suffrage.^[3]
• First First Lady to publish her memoirs.^[3]
• First First Lady to smoke cigarettes.^[3]
• First First Lady to successfully lobby for safety standards in federal workplaces.^[3]

Edith Wilson

• First First Lady to assume presidential functions.

Florence Harding

• First First Lady to vote.^[3]
• First First Lady to fly in an airplane.^[3]
• First First Lady to operate a movie camera.^[3]
• First First Lady to own a radio.^[3]
• First First Lady to invite movie stars to the White House.^[3]

Grace Anna Coolidge

• First First Lady to earn a four-year undergraduate degree.^[12]
• First First Lady to speak in sound newsreels.^[3]

Lou Hoover

• First First Lady to make regular nationwide radio broadcasts.^[13]

Eleanor Roosevelt

• First First Lady to hold regular press conferences.^[3]
• First First Lady to write a daily newspaper column.^[3]
• First First Lady to write a monthly magazine column.^[3]
• First First Lady to host a weekly radio show.^[3]

Jacqueline Kennedy

• First First Lady to hire a press secretary.^[3]
• First First Lady to hire a White House curator.^[3]
• First First Lady to win an Emmy Award.^[11]

Pat Nixon

• First First Lady to enter a combat zone.^[14]
• First First Lady to visit Africa.^[15]
• First First Lady to travel to the People's Republic of China.^[16]
• First First Lady to visit the Soviet Union.^[16]
• First First Lady to wear pants in public.^[3]

Betty Ford

• First First Lady to admit having a drinking problem.

Rosalynn Carter

• First First Lady to keep her own office in the East Wing.^[3]

Nancy Reagan

• First First Lady invited to address the United Nations General Assembly (which she did).^[17]

Hillary Clinton

• First First Lady to earn a postgraduate degree.^[18]
• First First Lady to have her own professional career up to the time of entering the White House.^[18]
• First First Lady with an office in the West Wing.^[19]
• First First Lady to win a Grammy Award.^[20]
• First First Lady to be subpoenaed to testify before a Federal grand jury.^[21]
• First First Lady to run for elected office.^[22]
• First First Lady to win elected office.^[22]
• First First Lady to run for president (2008).^[3][23]

Laura Bush

• First First Lady to give birth to twins.^[3]
• First First Lady to substitute for the President in the President's weekly radio address.^[3]

Michelle Obama

• First African-American First Lady.^[24]
• First First Lady to announce the winner of an Oscar (Best Picture which went to Argo).^[25]

References

1. "Martha Washington Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". Firstladies.org. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
2. "The 44 first ladies of the United States of America | Deseret News". M.deseretnews.com. 2015-05-14. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
3. "Little-known facts about our First Ladies". Firstladies.org. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
4. "Louisa Adams Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". Firstladies.org. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
5. "Louisa Adams - First Ladies". HISTORY.com. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
6. "Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
7. Letitia Tyler-White House Biography
8. Julia Gardiner Tyler-National First Ladies Library
9. "Julia Grant Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". Firstladies.org. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
10. "Lucy Hayes Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". Firstladies.org. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
11. "First Ladies — History.com Video". History.com. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
12. "Grace Coolidge Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". www.firstladies.org. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
13. "Lou Henry Hoover". whitehouse.gov. 1944-01-07. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
14. "First Lady Biography: Pat Nixon". The National First Ladies Library. 2005. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
15. Anthony, Carl Sferrazza (1991). First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents' Wives and Their Power; 1961–1990 (Volume II). New York: William Morrow and Co., p. 196
16. "News Detail". Nixonfoundation.net. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
17. "Nancy Reagan Biography :: National First Ladies' Library". Firstladies.org. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
18. "Hillary Rodham Clinton". PBS. Retrieved December 2, 2014. Clinton had the first postgraduate degree through regular study and scholarly work. Eleanor Roosevelt had been previously awarded a postgraduate honorary degree. Clinton's successor Laura Bush became the second First Lady with a postgraduate degree.
19. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/06/us/politics/hillary-clintons-history-as-first-lady-powerful-but-not-always-deft.html
20. Jeffrey D. Schultz (1999). Encyclopedia of Women in American Politics. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 40–. ISBN 978-1-57356-131-0.
21. "Once Upon a Time in Arkansas: Rose Law Firm Billing Records". Frontline. October 7, 1997.
22. "First first lady to win elected office". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
23. McGregor, Jena. "Is Hillary Clinton’s challenge that she’s been set up for failure, or for success?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
24. "First Lady Michelle Obama". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
25. "Michelle Obama surprises Oscars by presenting Best Picture award". Reuters. February 24, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2013.