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Although President Abraham Lincoln had friends and supporters in the press such as Pennsylvania newspaper editor John Forney; Henry J. Raymond, editor and owner of the New York Times; and Lawrence A. Gobright of the Associated Press, probably none was closer to him than Noah Brooks (1830-1903), the Washington, D.C. reporter for the Sacramento, California Daily Union. The two
Both John Quincy Adams and his wife, Louisa Catherine, were great devotees of music, and often sang ballads and arias together, while Louisa played the White House American-made Babcock piano, now housed in the Smithsonian Institution. At one of the decade’s most important historic events -- the ground-breaking ceremony for the excavation of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in 1828 --
During the administrations of John Tyler, James Knox Polk and Zachary Taylor, guest performers entertained at the White House with increasing frequency. Most often they were folk singers, whose music reflected the growing political and social unrest of the era. Tyler was the first of seven presidents who would hear the famous Hutchinson Family Singers in the decades ensuing. A
Tin Pan Alley and the American musical theater were in a great state of verve and vitality in the period between the two world wars, and White House guests lists of the time reflected this. In 1924 President Coolidge invited legendary showman, Al Jolson to help him launch an election campaign at a White House pancake breakfast. After the breakfast, forty
One hundred fifty years ago, the United States experienced its last holiday season of the Civil War. For the past three Decembers, President Abraham Lincoln had been frustrated by defeats on the battlefield and the continuation of a seemingly endless war. This Christmas of 1864 however, President Lincoln had much to celebrate. He was glad First Lady Mary Lincoln had returned
William Wilson Corcoran—banker, philanthropist, and patron of the arts—resided in picturesque splendor on the northwest corner of Lafayette Park at the intersection of H Street and Connecticut Avenue, NW, from 1848 to 1888. The son of an Irish immigrant, Corcoran made his fortune in banking. As a partner in Washington’s Corcoran & Riggs Bank during the Mexican War, he was re
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
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
In response to the economic crisis created by the Arab oil embargo and the nation's growing dependence on foreign oil, President Jimmy Carter called for a comprehensive campaign to conserve energy. He set an example during his administration by promoting the use of solar energy by installing solar heating panels on the roof of the West Wing in 1979. They were
