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Unsung and Unstoppable: The First Ladies and Facts You Never Knew

Unsung and Unstoppable: The First Ladies and Facts You Never Knew

VIRTUAL: Join the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE), and the National First Ladies Library and Museum (NFLLM) on April 22 at 7:00 pm ET for a special FREE virtual program in honor of National First Ladies Day, which is April 26.

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American FLOTUS Podcasts View All Podcasts

Flare Podcasts

American FLOTUS

American FLOTUS is dedicated to bringing you the very best information and analysis about the First Ladies of the United States. In this partnership of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE) and American POTUS, we present experts drawn from the many members of FLARE sharing with us their expertise and their experiences. We hope you enjoy American FLOTUS. The next podcast is:

Melania and Michelle: First Ladies in a New Era with Dr. Tammy Vigil

Like all First Ladies, Melania Trump and Michelle Obama have put their own unique stamp on the office, but there are also fascinating parallels between these two leaders.  Join author Tammy Vigil on American FLOTUS as she discusses her book, Melania and Michelle: First Ladies in a New Era.  Brought to you by a partnership of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education and the American POTUS podcast, American FLOTUS is hosted by Alan Lowe.

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 Read the Transcript

Melania Trump says it’s ‘heartbreaking’ to watch teens grapple with the fallout from revenge porn
Michelle Obama and her brother to launch a podcast with weekly guests
National Park Trust Honors Former First Lady Laura Bush With 2025 American Park Experience (APEX) Award
‘Beautification: The Environmental Legacy of Lady Bird Johnson’ to open at Upcountry History Museum
View All First Ladies in the News
Our Mission
The mission of FLARE is to create and sustain a network to promote and publicize research and education relevant to the contributions, lives, impacts, and lasting legacies of U.S. First Ladies.
 
Our Vision
FLARE will be the primary association to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and outreach among scholars, institutions, First Ladies’ staff, biographers, archivists, journalists, and public historians interested in research and education about the lasting legacy of U.S. First Ladies.

 

FLARE Focus more information

FLARE Focus on The Second Lady as Understudy:

Apprenticing the Role Before Ascending
to the First Lady Mainstage

by Jeanne Ryan Wolfson

Senate Ladies Luncheon

Second Lady Pat Nixon (far right) at a Senate Ladies Luncheon,
June 9, 1959. Photo credit: Richard Nixon Foundation

Twelve of the nation’s first ladies served as second ladies of the United States before their husbands were elected President: Abigail Adams, Letitia Tyler, Abigail Fillmore, Eliza Johnson, Edith Roosevelt, Grace Coolidge, Bess Truman, Pat Nixon, Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Barbara Bush, and Dr. Jill Biden. Their time as second lady revealed some of what they would bring to the role of first lady as well as causes they would continue to champion.

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Upcoming Events view all events

 April 2025 
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Wed
16
2025
April 16, 2025
5:30PM - 7:30PM EDT

Remember the First Ladies

First Ladies Birthdays view all events

Tue
8
2025
April 8, 2025

Elizabeth “Betty” Bloomer Ford

April 8, 1918

Sat
19
2025
April 19, 2025

Lucretia Rudolph Garfield

April 19, 1832

Sat
26
2025
April 26, 2025

Melania Knavs Trump

April 26, 1970

* indicates Inaugural Lifetime Individual Member

*Kristin Ahlberg

*Catherine Allgor

*Mary R. Anderson

Sara W. Armstrong

*Thomas J. Balcerski

*Maurine Beasley

*Allida Black

*Pamela G. Bourland-Davis

*Mary C. Brennan

*Christopher Brick

*Paulette Brinka

*Mary Balfour Calvert

Diana B. Carlin*

*Stacy Cordery

*Erika N. Cornelius Smith

*Susan Donius

*East Wing Magazine

Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Museum

*Sharon Fawcett

Andra Gillespie

*Lewis L. Gould

James R. Grisham, III 

*Nichola Gutgold

*Laura Gutin

Myra G. Gutin*

*Linda B. Hobgood

*Edwina and Tom Johnson (Atlanta)

*Kay Sebring-Roberts Kuhlmann

Michael LaRosa

*Christopher J. Leahy

*Heath Hardage Lee

Alan Lowe

*Anne F. Mattina

Anita B. McBride*

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Elizabeth J. Natalle*

*Nick Natalle

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Rebecca Boggs Roberts*

Katherine A. S. Sibley*

Nancy Kegan Smith*

Mary Stockwell*

*Larry and Louann Temple

*Elizabeth Lorelei Thacker-Estrada

*Courtney C. Travers

*Tammy R. Vigil

Molly Wertheimer*

*Sharon Williams Leahy

*Jeanne Ryan Wolfson

 

*Nancy Beck Young

 

*Kay Zerwick