Education Background of the First Lady (Since 1900)

THE EDUCATION BACKGROUND OF THE FIRST LADY (Starting 20^th Century)
First Lady	Years of Service	Highest Level of Education	School Attended
Ida Saxton McKinley	1897-1901	Secondary	Brooke Hall Finishing School (1868)[1]
Edith Roosevelt	1901-1909	Secondary	Miss Comstock's Finishing School (1871-1879)[2]
Helen Taft	1909-1913	Secondary	University of Cincinnati (classes in German, Chemistry)[3]
Ellen Wilson	1913-1914	Secondary	Rome Female College (1876)[4]
Edith Wilson	1914-1921	Did not complete secondary education.	Martha Washington College (1887) Powell's School[5]
Florence Harding	1921-1923	Secondary	Cincinnati Conservatory of Music[6]
Grace Coolidge	1923-1929	B.A., Philosophy.	University of Vermont, Burlington (1902)[7]
Lou Hoover	1929-1933	Degree in teaching, SJSU/ B.S. Geology, Stanford	San Jose State U., Stanford University (1898)[8]
Eleanor Roosevelt	1933-1945	Secondary	Allenswood School for Girls in London[9]
Bess Truman	1945-1953	Secondary	Barstow's Finishing School[10]
Mamie Eisenhower	1953-1961	Secondary	Miss Wolcott's Finishing School (1915)[11]
Jacqueline Kennedy	1961-1963	B.A., French Literature, minor in Art	Vassar College, study abroad in France, George Washington University (1951)[12]
Lady Bird Johnson	1963-1969	B.A., History (Honors); Teaching Certificate	University of Texas (1934)[13]
Patricia Nixon	1969-1947	B.S., Merchandising; Certificate to teach at high school level.	Fullerton Jr. College (1yr) University of Southern California (1937)
Betty Ford	1974-1977	Two years	Bennington School of Dance[14]
Rosalynn Carter	1977-1981	Junior College Diploma	Georgia Southwestern College (1946)[15]
Nancy Reagan	1981-1989	B.A., English & Drama	Smith College (1943)[16]
Barbara Bush	1989-1993	Did not complete degree.	Smith College[17]
Hillary Clinton	1993-2001	B.A., Political Science Juris Doctor	Wellesley College (1969)Yale Law School (1973)[18]
Laura Bush	2001-2009	B.S., Education Master of Library Science	Southern Methodist University (1968) University of Texas (1974)[19]
Michelle Obama	2009-2017	B.A., Sociology & African American Studies Juris Doctor	Princeton University (1985) Harvard Law School (1988)
Melania Trump	2017-2021	Did not complete degree.	University of Ljubljana (1 yr.)
Jill Biden	2021-present	B.A., English Master's, Education M.A., in English Ed.D., Educational Leadership	University of Delaware (B.A., 1975, Ed.D, 2007) West Chester University Villanova University

[1] http://archive.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=25.

[2] Cordery, Stacy A. (1996). "Edith Kermit (Carow) Roosevelt". In Gould, Lewis L. (ed.). American First Ladies: Their Lives and Their Legacy. Garland Publishing. pp. 294–320.

[3] Anthony, Carl Sferrazza. Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era. 1st ed. New York: William Morrow, 2005. Print. Pp 47-48.

[4] Miller, Kristie. Ellen and Edith: Woodrow Wilson’s First Ladies. Lawrence, Kan: University Press of Kansas, 2010. Print. P. 6.

[5] Miller, Kristie. Ellen and Edith: Woodrow Wilson’s First Ladies. Lawrence, Kan: University Press of Kansas, 2010. Print. P. 102.

[6] Sibley, Katherine A. S. (Katherine Amelia Siobhan). First Lady Florence Harding: Behind the Tragedy and Controversy. Lawerence, Kan: University Press of Kansas, 2009. Print. P. 12.

[7] Ferrell, Robert H. Grace Coolidge: The People’s Lady in Silent Cal’s White House. Lawrence, Kan: University Press of Kansas, 2008. Print. P. 18.

[8] Allen, Anne Beiser. An Independent Woman: The Life of Lou Henry Hoover. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2000. Print. P. 19.

[9] Allen, Anne Beiser. An Independent Woman: The Life of Lou Henry Hoover. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2000. Print. P. 6.

[10] Truman, Margaret. Bess W. Truman. New York: Macmillan, 1986. Print. P. 18

[11] Holt, Marilyn Irvin. Mamie Doud Eisenhower : The General’s First Lady. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2007. Print. P. 6.

[12] Perry, Barbara A. (Barbara Ann). Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2004. Print. P. 26-28.

[13] Gould, Lewis L. Lady Bird Johnson : Our Environmental First Lady. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1999. Print. P. 5.

[14] Witherbee A. Betty Ford. Betty Ford. March 2023:1-N.PAG. Accessed November 30, 2023. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=15323145&site=ehost-live

[15] Kaufman, Scott. Rosalynn Carter: Equal Partner in the White House. Lawrence, Kan: University Press of Kansas, 2007. Print. P. 5.

[16] Deaver, Michael K. Nancy: A Portrait of My Years with Nancy Reagan. New York: Morrow, 2004. Print. P. 26.

[17] Gutin, Myra G. Barbara Bush: Presidential Matriarch. Lawrence, Kan: University Press of Kansas, 2008. Print. P. 8.

[18] Troy, Gil. Hillary Rodham Clinton : Polarizing First Lady. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2006. Print. pp 12-24.

[19] Kessler, Ronald. Laura Bush: An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady. 1st ed. New York: Doubleday, 2006. Print. pp 50-60.

Notes

This table was initially prepared by Carson Mills, APP Research Assistant, in Fall 2023.

Citations

The American Presidency Project, "Education Level of First Ladies (Since 1900)," https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/368720/