First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is a title typically held by the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never been codified or officially defined, she figures prominently in the political and social life of the United States. The first lady of the United States is the hostess of the White House.
Laura Lane Bush is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the first lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000 when her husband was governor.
Nancy Reagan was an American film actress who was the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, as the second wife of President Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States.
Dolley Todd Madison was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for holding Washington social functions in which she invited members of both political parties, essentially spearheading the concept of bipartisan cooperation. Previously, founders such as Thomas Jefferson would only meet with members of one party at a time, and politics could often be a violent affair resulting in physical altercations and even duels. Madison helped to create the idea that members of each party could amicably socialize, network, and negotiate with each other without violence. By innovating political institutions as the wife of James Madison, Dolley Madison did much to define the role of the President's spouse, known only much later by the title First Lady—a function she had sometimes performed earlier for the widowed Thomas Jefferson.
First Lady or First Gentleman is an unofficial title usually used for the spouse, and occasionally used for the offspring or other relative, of a non-monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a person seen to be at the top of her profession or art.
Eleanor Rosalynn Carter was an American writer, activist, and humanitarian who served as the first lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981, as the wife of president Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States. Throughout her decades of public service she was a leading advocate for women's rights and mental health.
Julia Boggs Grant was the first lady of the United States and wife of President Ulysses S. Grant. As first lady, she became the first woman in the position to write a memoir. Her memoirs, The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant, were published in 1975.
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States.
Richard Cutts was an American merchant and politician. A Democratic-Republican, he was most notable for his service as Second Comptroller of the United States Treasury from 1817 to 1829 and a United States representative from Massachusetts from 1801 to 1813.
Beginning with painter Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington, it has been tradition for the president of the United States to have an official portrait taken during their time in office, most commonly an oil painting. This tradition has continued to modern times, although since the adoption of photography as a widely used and reliable technology, the official portrait may also be a photograph.
The Cutts–Madison House is an American colonial-style historic home, now used for offices located at 1520 H Street NW in Washington, D.C. The house is best known for being the residence of former First Lady Dolley Madison, who lived there from November 1837 until her death in July 1849.
Becoming is the memoir by former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama, published on November 13, 2018. Described by the author as a deeply personal experience, the book talks about her roots and how she found her voice, as well as her time in the White House, her public health campaign, and her role as a mother. The book is published by Crown and was released in 24 languages. One million copies were donated to First Book, an American nonprofit organization which provides books to children.
The following is a list of works about the spouses of presidents of the United States. While this list is mainly about presidential spouses, administrations with a bachelor or widowed president have a section on the individual that filled the role of First Lady. The list includes books and journal articles written in English after c. 1900 as well as primary sources written by the individual themselves.
A Promised Land is a memoir by Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Published on November 17, 2020, it is the first of a planned two-volume series. Remaining focused on his political career, the presidential memoir documents Obama's life from his early years through to the events surrounding the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011. The book is 768 pages long and available in digital, paperback, and hardcover formats and has been translated into two dozen languages. There is also a 29-hour audiobook edition that is read by Obama himself.
The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant is a book by Julia Grant, the first lady of the United States and wife of Ulysses S. Grant. Though the book's initial manuscript was written in the 1890s, it was not published until 1975, nearly 73 years after Grant's death. Upon publication, the book received mixed reviews from critics, with some appreciating its description of the author's life and insight into life in the Victorian era. Others criticized the book as un-revealing and "not very insightful".
Recollections of Full Years is a 1914 memoir by Helen Taft, a First Lady of the United States and wife of William Howard Taft. The memoirs were the first to be published by a first lady. The book serves as "the most important source of information" about Helen Taft.
Catherine Allgor is an American historian focusing on women and early American history; she has written and lectured extensively on Dolley Madison and the founding generation of American women. Since 2017 she has served as the president of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Previously Allgor was appointed to the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation by President Barack Obama and has served as the Nadine and Robert A. Skotheim Director of Education at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Formerly she was a Professor of History and UC Presidential Chair at the University of California, Riverside, and has taught at Claremont McKenna College, Harvard University, and Simmons University. Allgor was a Frances Perkins Scholar at Mount Holyoke College and received her PhD from Yale University where she was awarded the Yale Teaching Award. Her dissertation was awarded best dissertation in American history at Yale and received the Lerner-Scott Prize for the Best Dissertation in U.S. Women's History.
Mary Estelle Elizabeth Cutts was an American socialite, amateur historian, and memoirist. She exchanged letters frequently with Dolley Madison and, after Madison's death in 1849, spent the last seven years of her life writing and attempting to publish two memoirs. The memoirs included biographical information on Madison and were published in 1886 as the heavily edited Memoirs and Letters of Dolley Madison, Wife of James Madison, President of the United States by Lucia B. Cutts. The work was the standard on Madison's life for over a century.
