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Bio
Martha Jefferson
Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson was born on October 30, 1748 at her father’s plantation in Charles City County, Virginia. At the age of 18 Martha married Bathurst Skelton on November 20, 1766, but following his death two years later, she returned to her parent’s home with her young son. When Thomas Jefferson came courting a few years later, the 22-year-old widow had lost her
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Bio
Helen Taft
As “the only unusual incident” of her girlhood, “Nellie” Herron Taft recalled her visit to the White House at 17 as the guest of President and Mrs. Hayes, intimate friends of her parents. Fourth child of Harriet Collins and John W. Herron, born in 1861, she had grown up in Cincinnati, Ohio, attending a private school in the city and studying music with ent
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Bio
Florence Harding
On August 15, 1860, Florence Mabel Kling was born in Marion, Ohio, to parents Louisa Bouton Kling and Amos Kling. Kling’s success as a businessman allowed Florence and her brothers to enjoy a comfortable upbringing. Florence had an extensive education and a talent for piano, which culminated in her enrollment at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Afterward, Florence worked as a pi
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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
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
Jacqueline Kennedy
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was born on July 28, 1929, in Southampton, New York, to parents John and Janet Bouvier. She and her younger sister, Caroline, grew up in Manhattan. During her childhood, Jacqueline learned French, practiced ballet, and took horseback riding lessons.1 She enrolled at Vassar University in 1947 and studied abroad in Paris, France, before transferring to George Washington University, where she
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Scholarship
Andrew Jackson and Music at the White House
The White House under Andrew Jackson was simpler in its customs, ambience and attitudes than it had been under Adams or Monroe. It was the people’s house with public receptions that opened its doors to one and all. At one of President Jackson’s receptions, the Marine Band played one of the president’s favorite tunes, "Auld Lang Syne," as his
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Artists Perform for the President
The abundance of fine artists who performed during the Theodore Roosevelt era continued to appear during succeeding administrations, and President and Mrs. William Howard Taft and the Woodrow Wilsons molded the popular White House musicale into a well-established tradition. Beginning with the Roosevelts and continuing through the Eisenhowers, Steinway & Sons assisted the First Lady with the selection of the
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Blind Piano Prodigy Thomas Greene Bethune
Eleven-year-old piano prodigy and composer Thomas Greene Wiggins Bethune (1849-1908) is believed to have been the first African American artist to perform at the White House when he played for President James Buchanan in 1860. By that time "Blind Tom"—as the unsighted enslaved child was billed professionally by his white master-manager Colonel James Bethune—had toured the United States and was
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Scholarship
Examples of State Dinners Throughout History
December 22, 1874: First State Dinner for a foreign head of state King David Kalakaua of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Hosted by President Ulysses S. Grant, the king had royal food testers to sample the more than 20-course White House dinner. 1902: The Roosevelt renovation included a major expansion of the State Dining Room from entertaining approximately 40 guests to the accommodation of 120 people.
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Music and Musical Performances in the White House Timeline
1790s Before the White House was completed in 1800, President George Washington and his wife Martha lived first in New York City, then Philadelphia. Washington enjoyed the theater and liked to dance, especially the minuet, which he danced with great pleasure at his inaugural ball. Read More 1800s President and Mrs. John Adams were the first occupants of the White House