"A position where I can do the most good..." - Eleanor RooseveltOver 47 women have held the role of First Lady as of 2017. However, not all those who have served as a first lady were spouses to the presidents. If the president was a bachelor or widower, or if his wife was unable or unwilling to perform the role, other female relatives or friends were called upon to carry out the first lady's official duties; thus, there have been more first ladies than presidents. For more information and biographies on each of the first ladies, visit the National First Ladies Library. ![]() Our First LadiesMartha WashingtonWife to President George Washington 1789-1801 ![]() Wife to President Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809 ![]() Wife to President James Monroe 1817-1825 ![]() Wife to President Andrew Jackson 1829-1837 ![]() Daughter-in-law to President Martin Van Buren 1837-1841 ![]() Wife to President William Henry Harrison 1841 ![]() Wife to President John Tyler 1841-1842 ![]() Second wife to President John Tyler 1844-1845 ![]() Wife to President James Polk 1845-1849 ![]() Wife to President Zachary Taylor 1849-1850 ![]() Wife to President Millard Fillmore 1850-1853 ![]() Wife to President Franklin Pierce 1853-1857 ![]() Niece to President James Buchanan 1857-1861 ![]() Wife to President Abraham Lincoln 1861-1865 ![]() Wife to President Andrew Johnson 1865-1869 ![]() Wife to President Ulysses S. Grant 1869-1877 ![]() Wife to President Rutherford B. Hayes 1877-1881 ![]() Wife to President James A. Garfield 1881 ![]() Wife to President Chester Arthur 1881-1885 ![]() Wife to President Grover Cleveland 1885-1889 1893-1897 ![]() Wife to President Benjamin Harrison 1889-1893 ![]() Wife to President William McKinley 1897-1901 ![]() Wife to President Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909 ![]() Wife to President Woodrow Wilson 1913-1914 ![]() Second wife to President Woodrow Wilson 1914-1921 ![]() Wife to Warren G. Harding 1921-1923 ![]() Wife to President Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929 ![]() Wife to President Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953-1961 ![]() Wife to President John F. Kennedy 1961-1963 ![]() Wife to President Richard Nixon 1969-1974 ![]() Wife to President Gerald Ford 1974-1977 ![]() Wife to President Jimmy Carter 1977-1981 ![]() Wife to President Ronald Reagan 1981-1989 ![]() Wife to President George H.W. Bush 1989-1993 |
![]() Wife to President Bill Clinton 1993-2001 ![]() Wife to President George W. Bush 2001-2009 ![]() Wife to President Barack Obama 2009-2017 ![]() Wife to President Donald Trump 2017- 2021 ![]() All images courtesy of the National Archives. Wife to President Joe Biden 2021- |
Last updated: February 3, 2021