Presidents
Article
Jacqueline Kennedy Refines the Season
In 1961, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of selecting a theme for the official White House Christmas tree. She decorated a tree placed in the oval Blue Room with ornamental toys, birds and angels modeled after Pyotr Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" ballet. Mrs. Kennedy reused these ornaments in 1962 for her children's theme tree. Set up in the North Entrance, this
Article
Zachary Taylor Funeral
After attending the ground breaking ceremony for the Washington Monument on a hot July 4, 1850, Taylor returned to the White House and gorged himself on a large bowl of ripe cherries with cold milk. He also drank many glasses of ice water that day. He was beset with stomach cramps that night and became seriously ill. He was later diagnosed with
Article
William McKinley Funeral
Shot by anarchist Leon F. Czolgosz while he was standing in a receiving line at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y., on September 6, 1901, President McKinley would die eight days later after gangrene ravaged his wounded organs. McKinley's funeral train arrived in Washington, D.C., in the evening of Monday, September 16, 1901. The coffin was lifted out of the palace car
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William Henry Harrison Funeral
Before the death of William Henry Harrison in 1841, there was no established form for official mourning and funerals of presidents who died in office. However, it was clear that the death of a president called for a formal ceremony with symbolism suitable to the dignity of the state. The White House was heavily draped in black. The funeral ceremony was