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Bio
Edith Wilson
“Secret president,” “first woman to the woman to run the government”—some historians have labeled a first lady whose role gained unusual significance when her husband suffered prolonged and disabling illness. A happy, protected childhood and first marriage had prepared Edith Wilson for the duties of helpmate and hostess; widowhood had taught her something of business matters. Descendant of Virginia slave owne
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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
Donald J. Trump
Donald John Trump was born in Queens, New York, on June 14, 1946. His father, Fred Trump was a successful real estate developer. Trump was educated at the New York Military Academy and the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1971, he took over his father’s real estate company, renaming it the Trump Organization. The business so
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Bio
Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. was born on November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 1953, the Biden family moved from Pennsylvania to Delaware. Joe Biden graduated from the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School and served on the New Castle County Council. In 1972, at the age of 29, he was elected to the United States Senate.Just weeks after the election, tragedy struck
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Bio
Dr. Jill Biden
Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden was born on June 3, 1951, in Hammonton, New Jersey. Growing up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, she graduated from Upper Moreland High School in 1969. She attended the University of Delaware, receiving a bachelor’s degree in English in 1975. That same year, she met Senator Joseph R. Biden of Delaware. On June 17, 1977, they were married in New York City at
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Bio
Rachel Jackson
Wearing the white dress she had purchased for her husband’s inaugural ceremonies in March 1829, Rachel Donelson Jackson was buried in the garden at the Hermitage, her home near Nashville, Tennessee, on Christmas Eve in 1828. Lines from her epitaph—A being so gentle and so virtuous slander might wound, but could not dishonor—reflected Andrew Jackson’s bitterness at campaign slurs th
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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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Bio
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767 near Lancaster, South Carolina, to a family of Scotch-Irish immigrants. His father, Andrew, passed away just a few weeks before his son's birth. All three Jackson boys—Hugh, Robert, and Andrew—were raised by their mother Elizabeth. The family settled in the Waxhaws near the North and South Carolina border, where they joined a larg
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Bio
Martha Johnson Patterson
Martha Johnson was the eldest child of Andrew and Eliza Johnson, born in Tennessee on October 25, 1828. While her father served in Congress, she attended school in Georgetown and occasionally visited the Polk White House.1 On December 13, 1855, she married David Trotter Patterson; together, they had two children, Andrew Johnson and Mary Belle in the years that followed.2 During the Civil War,
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Bio
James K. Polk
On November 2, 1795, James K. Polk was born in Pineville, North Carolina to Samuel and Jane Polk. The promise of greater economic opportunities and prosperity drew Samuel Polk and his family westward, and they soon settled just south of Nashville, Tennessee. He became a respected community leader, county judge, businessman, and prominent slave owner. Upon his death in 1827, Samuel Polk left
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Bio
James Madison
The oldest of twelve children, James Madison was born on March 16, 1751 to James and Nelly Madison. James Sr. was a slave owner and planter. In the early 1760s, he constructed a new home in Orange County, Virginia, and the family moved into the plantation estate, Montpelier. Although James Madison was often ill as a child, he was also naturally inquisitive