Edith Wilson | |
|---|---|
 1915 portrait | |
| First Lady of the United States | |
| In role December 18, 1915 – March 4, 1921 | |
| President | Woodrow Wilson |
| Preceded by | Margaret Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Florence Harding |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edith Bolling October 15, 1872 Wytheville, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | December 28, 1961 (aged 89) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Washington National Cathedral |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
| Signature |  |
Edith Wilson (née Bolling, formerly Galt; October 15, 1872 – December 28, 1961) was the first lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 and the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She married the widower Wilson in December 1915, during his first term as president. Edith Wilson played an influential role in President Wilson's administration following the severe stroke he suffered in October 1919. For the remainder of her husband's presidency, she managed the office of the president, a role she later described as a "stewardship", and determined which communications and matters of state were important enough to bring to the attention of the bedridden president.[1][2]
- ^ William Elliott Hazelgrove, Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson (Washington, D.C.: Regency Publishing, 2016); Brian Lamb, Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb?: A Tour of Presidential Gravesites (New York: Public Affairs, 2010), p. 119; Judith L. Weaver, "Edith Bolling, Wilson as First Lady: A Study in the Power of Personality, 1919–1920," Presidential Studies Quarterly 15, No. 1 (Winter, 1985), pp. 51–76; and Dwight Young and Margaret Johnson, Dear First Lady: Letters to the White House: From the Collections of the Library of Congress & National Archives (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2008), p. 91.
- ^ Markel, Howard (October 2, 2015). "When a secret president ran the country". PBS NewsHour. NewsHour Productions. Retrieved December 27, 2019.