Do You Know Which First Lady I Am? Quiz

Answer: Martha Washington

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (1731-1802), unlike the majority of women of her time who were not literary, learned to read and write at an early age; she also learned household management and notions of medicine, animal husbandry and plantation management, which enabled her to take care of the properties of Daniel P. Custis, whom she married at age 19. At age 26, she became a wealthy widow with two children, and at age 28, she married Colonel George Washington. Correspondence between the two was intense but there is no evidence that she had any influence on her husband's political decisions. She pushed for servicemen's wives to contribute to the Continental Army and supported Revolutionary War veterans.

When Washington first assumed the presidency on April 30, 1789, in New York, Marta was not present, but she was in Philadelphia where the second inauguration took place, on March 4, 1793. She was always a prominent figure and was the first historical woman to be depicted honored by the federal government on postage stamps and currency. Her face appeared on the 1 dollar bill from 1886 to 1891 and until 2020, she had been the only woman to appear on a paper note, the year in which the activist Harriet Tubman appeared on the 20 dollar bill.

Answer: Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams (1744-1818) had extensive home schooling, becoming familiar with French and English literature, and is considered one of the most erudite women to serve as First Lady. Abigail met John Adams, a country lawyer, at age 15, they married when she was 20, and in 12 years they had six children.

There are reports that she urged her husband to "remember the ladies "when he was writing the nation's Declaration of Independence in 1776. They lived in London and Paris where John Adams held a diplomatic post. She was second lady (wife of the vice president) from 1789 to 1797 and First Lady from 1797 to 1801. In 1800, when the capital of the United State moved from Philadelphia to Washington, president John Adams and Abigail moved into the still-unfinished but habitable "President's House", later called the White House. They only lived there for a few months as John Adams was not re-elected.

Abigail Adams was the first woman to live in the White House and (up to 2022) she and Barbara Bush are the only two women to have been married to a U.S. president and to have been the mother of another U.S. president.

Answer: Louisa Adams

Louisa Catherine Adams (née Johnson, 1775-1852), was born in London and at the age of three moved with her family to France, where they lived for five years. For a while, Louisa and her sisters attended boarding school but for financial reasons they finished their education at home.

In 1795, John Quincy Adams visited Joshua Johnson, Louisa's father, and the United States consul general in London, when he struck up a relationship with her, whom he married two years later. The Adams family had some objections to his marrying a foreigner but ended up accepting it.

The young couple lived in Europe as John Quincy Adams had a political and diplomatic career serving in various countries. From 1825 to 1829, John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States and Louisa became the first foreign-born First Lady. Only in 2017 the United States once again had a First Lady, born abroad, with Melania Trump.

Answer: Hillary Clinton

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (1947) graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and later attended Yale Law School, where she began a relationship with fellow student Bill Clinton. They got married in 1975 and since then played a very active role in his career.

After leaving her role as First Lady (1993 to 2001) Hilary was elected US Senator for New York and during President Obama's administration, she held the position of Secretary of State. On April 2015, she formally announced her candidacy for the presidency in the 2016 election.

Although she received the most votes overall, she was beaten by Donald Trump, who won the most votes in the electoral college.

Answer: Anna Harrison

Anna Tuthill Harrison (1775-1864) raised by her grandparents, received an unusually broad education for woman at her time. Her father was against her relationship with the military office William Harry Harrison, but the couple eloped and married in 1795. The couple lived in various places and finally, as the family grew (they had 10 children) Harrison left the military career and settled on the Ohio-Indiana border. Later Harrison began his political career, held various positions until he was elected the 9th American president. Before he had been in office for a month, he caught a pneumonia, and died. He held the presidency from March 4, 1841 to April 4, 1841, staying only one month. Anna did not attend his inauguration or his state funeral.

Anna Harrison, aged 65, was the oldest woman to become First Lady for many years; she held this record until 2021, when Jill Biden became First Lady at age 69; she was the shortest-serving First Lady - 31 days; she hadn't been at the White House during her husband's tenure. In 1889, her grandson Benjamin Harrison became the 23rd President of the United States, making Anna the first woman to be both the wife and grandmother of a president.

Answer: Sarah Polk

Sarah Childress Polk (1803-1891) was from a wealthy family, attended an exclusive school, one of the few institutions of higher learning available to women in the early 19th century. She married James K. Polk in 1824 and remained married for 25 years, but never had children while together, biologically, adopted or from previous marriage. Sarah always helped her husband with his speeches, accompanying him on trips, etc.. Polk declared that she was his most active supporter and critic.

James Polk was the 11th American President, from 1845 to 1849. As First Lady, Sarah banned from the White House: dancing, card games and hard liquor at official reception. Three months after leaving the presidency, James Polk died of cholera, having had the shortest retirement of any American President, and Sarah remained 42 years widowhood, the longest of any First Lady.

Answer: Frances Cleveland

Frances Clara Cleveland Preston was an American socialite, education activist and the First Lady of the United States from 1886 to 1889 and again from 1893 to 1897. Frances was the daughter of Oscar Folsom, a great friend of Grover Cleveland. When Oscar passed away, Cleveland was appointed administrator of her state and became Frances unofficial guardian. When she graduated, Cleveland at the time already in the Presidency, proposed marriage to her; then he was 49 and she was aged 21.

As at 2022, Frances Clara Cleveland remains the youngest presidential wife, the only First Lady to be wed in the White House, and the only First Lady to have served the role during two non-consecutive terms. Her record could of course be surpassed in the future.

Answer: Letitia Tyler

Letitia Christian Tyler (1790-1842) was the wife of John Tyler. Their marriage lasted 29 years and appears to have been successful as she wrote to him in a letter: "Whether I float or sink in the stream of fortune, you may be assured of this, that I shall never cease to love you".

John Tyler was the 10th American president, having taken office in April 4, 1841, after the untimely death of William Henry Harrison who was only one month in office. When Letitia moved to Washington, she was already very ill and died of a stroke in September 1842 in the White House.

In addition to Leticia Tyler, the first ladies Caroline Harrison (1892) and Ellen Wilson (1914) also died in the White House.

Answer: Bess Truman

Elizabeth Virginia Truman (1885-1982) was born in Independence, Missouri. She was very active and played many sports, such as golf, tennis, horseback riding, basketball, as well as dancing. At 18 her life suffered a setback as her father's suicide was a great scandal. Throughout her life, she avoided commenting on the fact and despite the public exposure though her duties, she was discreet about her private life.

Bess and Truman were married in 1919, at the end of the Great War although they had known each other for a long time. She had several jobs, almost always related to her husband's. After Truman became a senator, the family moved to Washington, where Bess participated in various activities. In April 1945, with the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman became the 33rd President of the United States, a position he held until January 1953. As First Lady, she avoided social obligations and the media as much as possible, and kept her personal opinions. After her tenure as the First Lady, Bess and her husband retired to Independence.

Bess died in 1982 at the age of 97, the longest lived First Lady in USA, followed by Rosalynn Carter (1927-) at 95, Nancy Reagan and Lady Bird Johnson at 94, Betty Ford at 93, and Barbara Bush at 92.

Answer: Harriet Lane

Harriet Rebecca Lane (1830-1903) was the niece of James Buchanan, who also became her guardian after she was orphaned. James Buchanan oversaw her education, placed her in private schools and introduced her into his social circles. She joined him in London when he was minister at the court of Saint James.

In 1856, Buchanan ran for and won the presidential election, becoming the 15th American president, from 1857 to 1861. Buchanan was lifelong bachelor and until 2022 remains the only bachelor president. His niece Harriet Lane assumed the duties of First Lady, acting as hostess, a role she performed with success, enthusiasm and discretion. These were hard times in the White House, as Buchanan served immediately prior to the American Civil War.

Harriet donated much of her artwork collection to the US government and a considerable sum of money to John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.