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Musical Events at the White House
During the terms of Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), White House musical events became a major, regularly scheduled feature of the mansion’s social life. Many innovations took place: the first program by a famous concert pianist; the first musicale devoted to a single opera; the first performance on a clavichord; and the first East Room piano–a fine concert grand from Stei
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Bio
Priscilla Cooper Tyler
On June 14, 1816, Elizabeth Priscilla Cooper, better known as Priscilla, was born to parents Thomas and Mary Cooper in New York City. As a young woman, Priscilla followed in her father’s footsteps, beginning an acting career that put her on stages across the country.1 After seeing her perform, lawyer Robert Tyler called on her; the two married on September 12, 1839.2 They we
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Bio
Mamie Eisenhower
Mamie Geneva Doud was born on November 14, 1896, in Boone, Iowa. She was the daughter of John Sheldon Doud and Elivera Mathilda Carlson Doud. The Doud family later moved to Colorado, eventually settling in Denver. Mamie attended local public schools and graduated from the Wolcott School, a private school for girls in 1915. That fall she met Second Lieutenant Dwight D. Eisenhower,
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Dolley Madison
Dolley Payne was born on May 20, 1768, the third of Mary Coles and John Payne Jr.’s nine children.1 Dolley was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, where her parents briefly moved to establish a Quaker community before returning to Virginia. Although John Payne owned enslaved people during Dolley’s early childhood, he freed them in 1783. It is unknown where Dolley was
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Bio
Grace Coolidge
Grace Anna Goodhue was born on January 3, 1879, in Burlington, Vermont. She was the only child of Andrew and Lemira Goodhue. Following her graduation from Burlington High School in 1897, Grace attended the University of Vermont, and joined the women’s fraternity Pi Beta Phi. Following her graduation in 1902, Grace entered training at the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts. Sh
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Eliza Johnson
Eliza McCardle was born on October 4, 1810. According to the Johnson family bible, Eliza’s birthplace was Greeneville, Tennessee; however, other sources claim she was born elsewhere in the state.1 Eliza’s father, John McCardle, was a shoemaker of Scottish descent. Her mother, Sarah Phillips McCardle, managed the household, and her ancestors may have come from Plymouth, Massachusetts.2 Eliza’s father died s
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Barack Obama
When Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, he became the first African American to hold the office. Obama faced major challenges during his two-term tenure in office. His primary policy achievements included health care reform, economic stimulus, banking reform and consumer protections, and a repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy preventing lesbian and gay Americans from serving
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Bio
Caroline Harrison
Caroline Scott was born in Oxford, Ohio, on October 1, 1832 to educator Mary Neal Scott and John Witherspoon Scott, a Presbyterian minister and president of Oxford Female Institute. Caroline, or “Carrie,” studied languages, music, and drawing at the institute, graduating in 1852.1 She also met Benjamin Harrison, a student at nearby Miami University, while in school. They later married on October 20, 1853.2 In 1854, the