List of First Ladies by Age at Inauguration
- Acting First Lady Sarah Angelica Van Buren was the youngest to become First Lady at age 20.
- Acting First Lady Emily Donelson was the second youngest at age 21.
- The youngest offical First Lady was Fances Cleveland who became First Lady at age 21.9.
- Jill Biden is the oldest to become First Lady at age 69.
Age-at-Start
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First Ladies by Age at Inauguration
(46th Pres. Joe Biden)
Firsts: First Italian American first lady. The oldest first lady to assume the role.
(9th Pres. William Henry Harrison)
Firsts: 1st woman to be both wife of a president and grandmother of a president (Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President). She was 1st Lady during her husband's 1-month term, holding the title for the shortest length of time. She was the first First Lady to be widowed while holding the title.
(41st Pres. George H. W. Bush)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to write a memoir from her dog?s perspective.
(29th Pres. Warren G. Harding)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to vote
(12th Pres. Zachary Taylor)
(33rd Pres. Harry S. Truman)
(40th Pres. Ronald Reagan)
(1st Pres. George Washington)
(37th Pres. Richard Nixon)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to wear pants in public.
(23rd Pres. Benjamin Harrison)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to have a Christmas tree in the White House. 1st First Lady to deliver a speech she had written herself.
(38th Pres. Gerald Ford)
(34th Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to appear in a televised presidential campaign ad
(31st Pres. Herbert Hoover)
(17th Pres. Andrew Johnson)
(43rd Pres. George W. Bush)
Firsts: 1st presidential spouse to deliver the White House weekly address.
(28th Pres. Woodrow Wilson)
Firsts: died during her husband?s presidency. Their daughter, Margaret Woodrow Wilson, served as hostess until her father married Edith.
(13th Pres. Millard Fillmore)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to have a job as a school teacher. Established the 1st library in the White House.
(2nd Pres. John Adams)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to live in the White House. 1st woman to be both wife of a president and mother of a president (John Quincy Adams 6th President)
(36th Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson)
Firsts: 1st wife to hold the Bible at the Inauguration.
(10th Pres. John Tyler)
(6th Pres. John Quincy Adams)
(25th Pres. William McKinley)
(39th Pres. Jimmy Carter)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to make a foreign policy trip
(20th Pres. James A. Garfield)
(5th Pres. James Monroe)
(32nd Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to host a weekly radio show. 1st First Lady to hold a press conference in the White House to women reporters only.
(27th Pres. William Howard Taft)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to ride with the President during the Inauguration parade. 1st First Lady to write a commercially published book: ?Recollections of Full Years.? 1st First Lady to own and drive
(14th Pres. Franklin Pierce)
(45th Pres. Donald Trump)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to be a former lingerie model, speak 5 lanuages. 1st first lady whose native language isn't English.
(19th Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to graduate from college. 1st First Lady to the host a White House Easter Egg Roll.
(42nd Pres. Bill Clinton)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to host a webcast from the White House. 1st First Lady elected to a public office. 1st First Lady to be a 'de facto' federal official. 1st First Lady to have an office in West
(44th Pres. Barack Obama)
Firsts: 1st African American First Lady
(30th Pres. Calvin Coolidge)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to receive an honorary degree from Boston University.
(28th Pres. Woodrow Wilson)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to receive permanent Secret Service protection
(18th Pres. Ulysses S. Grant)
(16th Pres. Abraham Lincoln)
(11th Pres. James K. Polk)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to host a Thanksgiving dinner at the White House.
(4th Pres. James Madison)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to be featured on a silver dollar. During her eulogy, President Zachary Taylor was the first to refer to her as ?First Lady?.
(21st Pres. Chester A. Arthur)
* Sister *
(26th Pres. Theodore Roosevelt)
(22nd Pres. Grover Cleveland)
* Sister *
(9th Pres. William Henry Harrison)
* Daughter-In-Law *
Firsts: briefly acted as 1st lady since the offical 1st lady was ill; daughter-in-law of the President
(23rd Pres. Benjamin Harrison)
* Daughter *
(35th Pres. John F. Kennedy)
(7th Pres. Andrew Jackson)
* Daughter-In-Law *
(22nd & 24th Pres. Grover Cleveland)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to be married in the White House. 1st First Lady to have a baby in the White House. 1st President's widow to remarry.
(3rd Pres. Thomas Jefferson)
* Daughter *
(28th Pres. Woodrow Wilson)
* Daughter *
Firsts: acting 1st lady; daughter of the President
(15th Pres. James Buchanan)
* Niece *
(10th Pres. John Tyler)
* Daughter-In-Law *
(10th Pres. John Tyler)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to be photographed. 1st woman to marry a sitting President.
(22nd & 24th Pres. Grover Cleveland)
Firsts: 1st First Lady to be married in the White House. 1st First Lady to have a baby in the White House. 1st President's widow to remarry.
(7th Pres. Andrew Jackson)
* Niece *
Firsts: acting 1st lady; niece of the President
(8th Pres. Martin Van Buren)
* Daughter-In-Law *
Karen Steward - 1 year ago