title: Mean

paragraphs: In mathematics and statistics, the mean is a kind of average. Besides the mean, there are other kinds of average, and there are also a few kinds of mean.

paragraphs: The most common mean is the arithmetic mean, which is calculated by adding all of the values together, then dividing by the number of values.

paragraphs: For example, if 1, 2, 2, 100, 100 is a set of numbers or scores. If we add all the numbers, the answer is 205. By dividing this number by the number of numbers (5), we find that the mean is 41. The difficulty with this particular set of numbers is that no one in this group scored anything like a 41, and it does not tell us much about what kind of scores these numbers represent.

paragraphs: In general, to find the average of formula_1 numbers, the formula_1 numbers are added and the total is divided by formula_1.

paragraphs: In symbols, if the numbers are formula_4, formula_5, formula_6, ... formula_7, the total is:

paragraphs: The total is divided by formula_1 to make the average:

paragraphs: If formula_4, formula_5, formula_6, ..., formula_7 are all the numbers in a sample formula_15, then this average is also called the sample mean of formula_15, and represented by the symbol formula_17.

paragraphs: The idea behind the mean is to represent a number of measurements, or values, by one value only. But there are different ways to calculate such a representing value.

paragraphs: If people do many different measurements, they will get many different results. Those results have a certain distribution, and they can also be centered around an "average" value. This average value is what mathematicians call arithmetic mean.

paragraphs: Mean can also stand for expected value. For a random variable formula_15, this is represented by the symbol formula_22.


title: Detergent

paragraphs: A detergent is a chemical that people use in washing things. Many people use washing powder, which is a type of detergent, when they need to clean their clothes.It is also used to clean glasses and other items.


title: Klaus Voormann

paragraphs: Klaus Voormann (born April 29, 1942) is a German artist and musician. He was born and raised in Berlin. He was a friend of The Beatles. He met them when they played in Hamburg, where he was going to art school.

paragraphs: Voormann designed the cover of their "Revolver" album, and later did cover art for "The Beatles Anthology" and some of George Harrison's solo records. He also played bass guitar with Manfred Mann, and on records by John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and their friend Harry Nilsson.

paragraphs: He also became a record producer, and produced the band Trio, whose biggest hit was "Da Da Da", which was used later in a Volkswagen television commercial.


title: Alan White

paragraphs: Alan White has been the name of several people, including:


title: Alan White (Yes drummer)

paragraphs: Alan White (born 14 June 1949) is an English musician, best known as the drummer from the band Yes. He also played on records by former Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison.

paragraphs: With John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band:

paragraphs: and work with Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Billy Sherwood, Esquire and The Syn


title: Stock market

paragraphs: A stock market is an institution where humans and computers buy and sell shares of companies.

paragraphs: Shares are small pieces of a company. Shares can be bought by humans, companies, and mutual funds. When buying shares in a company, the buyer owns a small part of that company. The price of a share can be based on many different things. The main thing that affects the price is the balance between supply and demand. If many buyers want to buy a stock the price goes up. If there are more sellers than buyers, the price goes down.

paragraphs: Some buyers trade shares in stocks through a stockbroker. A stockbroker is a person who buys or sell stocks for their customers. A stockbroker can also help customers make choices in stocks. Their advice is based on public information about the companies.

paragraphs: Trading stocks online has become more popular. Stocks can be traded online. There is a fee or commission each time a position is opened.


title: Allen Ginsberg

paragraphs: Irwin Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and author. He was part of the Beat Generation movement of poets in the 1950s. He was a friend of writers Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, and later made friends with musicians Bob Dylan, Donovan, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and many other celebrities.

paragraphs: Ginsberg's most famous work was called "Howl." It was a long poem about the social conditions of the United States in the 1950s. It began with the words "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness." It went on to describe the frustration felt by many Americans, young people and minorities in particular. There were problems in the country, such as prejudice and intolerance, that needed to be spoken about. Ginsberg published the poem, and also performed it at public poetry readings.

paragraphs: A few people did not like "Howl", or the graphic language Ginsberg used. They tried to have "Howl" banned, and they wanted Ginsberg to be prosecuted (given a court trial, then either fined or put in jail). Ginsberg went to trial, and the judge decided "Howl" was an important work, and told the truth about America at the time. The judge rejected the ban and cleared Ginsberg, who could then continue to publish and perform the poem.

paragraphs: Ginsberg became involved in social causes through his work, and through the famous people he met. He grew up in the Jewish faith, but later became a Buddhist. He was a homosexual, and his longtime partner was another poet, Peter Orlovsky. He also had a long relationship with Neal Cassady, who appeared as "N.C., secret hero of these poems" in "Howl".


title: Northwestern University

paragraphs: Northwestern University is a university in Evanston, Illinois, and Chicago, Illinois. It is very prestigious and selective. It has many people who learn and also people who teach.

paragraphs: The university is known most for providing a strong education in economics (the study of the economy), linguistics (the study of language), political science (the study of politics), and mathematics (the study of numbers). There is also a Medical school named Feinberg School of Medicine.

paragraphs: There is another university in Chicago, the University of Chicago.


title: Door god

paragraphs: A door god is a painting pasted on a door. These were used by the Chinese as good luck. Door gods can be seen on temples - places of religion - and other buildings. There is a belief that door gods stop evil spirits from going into the building.

paragraphs: Door gods are often in pairs, one for each side of the door. The first door gods may have been made for a Chinese Emperor, more than 1300 years ago. They showed his two best soldiers.


title: Jack Kerouac

paragraphs: Jean-Louis Lebris de Kerouac (born March 12, 1922 – died October 21, 1969), better known as Jack Kerouac, was an American author and poet. He was part of the Beat Generation movement of writers and artists of the 1950s and 1960s, and gave the movement its name. His most famous work was a long novel titled "On the Road", which was published in 1957.

paragraphs: Kerouac was a friend of writers Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Gregory Corso, among many others. Nearly all of Kerouac's writings were directly based on his own life, but he mostly changed names and details, to protect everyone's privacy. The man he wrote about most was his friend Neal Cassady, who was called "Dean Moriarty" in "On the Road". Kerouac influenced many other writers and poets who came along later, and also many musicians of the 1960s, through his works. He also changed the way Americans saw themselves, and their country.

paragraphs: Kerouac was born in Lowell, Massachusetts to French Canadian parents (named Leo and Gabrielle), and was the youngest of three children. He spoke only French until he started school. His family was Roman Catholic. His father was a printer, and Kerouac became interested in printed works. He liked to make his own handwritten newspapers and books. He enjoyed reading, and imitated the styles of writers he liked, such as Thomas Wolfe. He became an expert typist, and could type faster than 100 words per minute.

paragraphs: Kerouac was a good athlete, and earned a football scholarship to Columbia University. An injury during a practice game ended his football career. He dropped out of Columbia, and devoted himself to writing stories and plays. He met Allen Ginsberg at college. Their circle of friends included many future writers and artists, like William S. Burroughs, and Herbert Huncke.

paragraphs: During World War II, Kerouac served in the Merchant Marine, which made him a veteran of the American military. He kept journals of his experiences, and he used them later to write other works. He was honorably discharged from military service in 1943 when he was diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder. He was able to get veteran's benefits later, such as medical help when he was sick with , and grant money to pay his bills while he wrote. Kerouac was proud to be an American, and always said good things about his country.

paragraphs: Kerouac's father died of stomach cancer in 1946. He made Kerouac promise to always work to support his mother. He tried to talk Kerouac out of becoming a writer, because he knew it was hard to succeed in such a career. Kerouac had a hard time staying with any other kind of work, though. He would become impatient or restless, or a disagreement with someone at work would turn into trouble. Kerouac did his best to earn enough money to pay for both his and his mother's living, but his mother also had to work. She was a nurse. She worked in a factory when there were no nursing jobs.

paragraphs: Kerouac published a few and reviews in New York magazines and newspapers in the 1940s. He worked briefly for his hometown newspaper, "The Lowell Sun". His first novel, "The Town and the City", was published in 1950. For his second novel, Kerouac wanted to write a book about road trips and hitchhiking. Hitchhiking was safer to do in the 1940s, in America, than it is today. Kerouac stopped and restarted writing this book several times. Kerouac did not want to just tell an ordinary story. He wanted to give an idea of how the people he met thought things through, and expressed this to each other, along with telling what they did and said. He also knew he needed more experiences, to tell a better story.

paragraphs: Many experiences came through Kerouac's friendship with Neal Cassady. Cassady was a handsome, bright young with a teenaged wife, named Luanne Henderson. Cassady and Luanne had a hard relationship, and broke up and got back together many times. He later married another woman named Carolyn Robinson, who was older than Luanne and understood him better, but Carolyn and Cassady also had troubles. Kerouac was briefly married, to girlfriend Edie Parker. They did not stay together long, and were soon divorced. Cassady taught Kerouac, who never had a , how to drive, while Kerouac taught Cassady about writing.

paragraphs: Neal Cassady traveled back and forth across the country, usually driving cars like Hudsons at high speed. he looked for jobs, fresh experiences, and new friends. Kerouac began to travel with him. They lived in and visited cities such as Denver, San Francisco, Monterey, and even Mexico City. They also looked sometimes for Cassady's father, who disappeared years earlier. Kerouac got sick in Mexico City, and Cassady left him behind at the hospital. Kerouac had to make his own way home. He took this very hard, and was angry with Cassady. He forgave him later, when they met again, and he made Cassady the central character of his new book. One job Kerouac could fall back on, thanks to Cassady, was as a railroad brakeman.

paragraphs: Many people in the 1940s and 1950s used drugs such as benzedrine, to help them stay alert. Jazz music was also popular, and some jazz musicians and listeners smoked marijuana. Kerouac was influenced by both drugs, and they changed the way he wrote. He began to write what he called " prose", jotting down words in much the same way a musician a solo in a song. (Kerouac played no musical instruments, but could well, and had many of the same instincts as a musician.) His new writing style was strange to many people, and even seen as bad by some older authors and critics. It was six years before Kerouac published his second novel.

paragraphs: The version of "On the Road" that finally satisfied Kerouac was written over three weeks in 1951. It was typed on a single roll of teletype paper. Kerouac liked to type on rolls of paper, because he did not have to stop to change pages. He had just gotten married for the second time, to Joan Haverty. The manuscript was Kerouac's way to explain his friendship with Neal Cassady to his new wife. The explanation made a fine rough draft for a novel, but it did not help his marriage. Joan felt that Kerouac's nonstop work on the manuscript was an , and she did not want to stay married to him after it was finished. They were soon divorced, as he was with his first wife.

paragraphs: The editor who worked on "The Town and the City" found the long, scroll-like manuscript hard to understand, and even harder to work with. Kerouac's publisher rejected the novel, as did every other publisher he went to. Nor was anyone interested in "The Subterraneans", a shorter novel he wrote in three nights, about his romance with an African-American woman. Such a relationship was taboo in America during the 1950s. Kerouac continued to write, from short stories and essays to long novels, and even poetry. He tried many different subjects, but had almost nothing published. He also worked different jobs, including brakeman and .

paragraphs: It turned out that Joan Haverty was pregnant by Kerouac, and she gave birth to a daughter, Jan-Michelle. Kerouac denied he was the father at first, but a blood test later proved it was likely. She also grew to look like him, and he accepted her as his child. Joan sued Kerouac for child support, but he was ill and could not work at the time, and she collected almost no money. Kerouac only saw Jan a few times, but talked to her more often by telephone. Joan mostly kept them apart.

paragraphs: Allen Ginsberg became well-known during the 1950s for his writings, in particular a poem called "Howl", whose title came from Kerouac's of it. Ginsberg mentioned his friends in some of his works, including Kerouac, and wanted the people who liked him to give them and their writings a chance. Finally Viking Press agreed to publish "On the Road", after many changes to the manuscript. The novel became a bestseller, and Kerouac was a celebrity after years of little success. Magazines began to request articles and essays from him. He appeared on many television programs, including "The Steve Allen Show". Steve Allen liked him, and they recorded an album together, with Kerouac reading aloud and Allen playing piano. He recorded another album later, with jazz musicians Al Cohn and Zoot Sims.

paragraphs: Kerouac wrote and published more novels, including "The Dharma Bums", "Doctor Sax", "Maggie Cassidy", "Visions of Gerard" (a of his older brother, who died in childhood), "Big Sur" (about the stresses brought on by fame, and how the people he knew saw him differently), "Desolation Angels", and "Book of Dreams" (a ). He studied Buddhism, and this also influenced his writing. He wrote "Some of the Dharma" as an introduction to Buddhism, though he remained a Catholic.

paragraphs: As Kerouac, Ginsberg, and their friends became famous, a trend among the group of writers and artists was noticed, and was written about in the mainstream media. Kerouac was asked to describe his generation. He explained that the pressures of 20th century living had 'beaten' normal ways of thinking and working out of them, and they preferred the beat of bebop and jazz to most other music, "so I guess you could say we're a "beat generation"."

paragraphs: "Beat Generation" became the name for the new sense of style coming from artists and writers in New York and San Francisco. Kerouac's circle of friends and acquaintances (and their imitators) were called the Beats, with Kerouac himself called "King of the Beats" by the media. (The term was later parodied as "", implying such people were Communists, and would hurt the country.) Kerouac narrated a movie, called "Pull My Daisy", about the Beat phenomenon.

paragraphs: An ongoing problem Kerouac had with fame was that people thought he did all the things he wrote about. Much of what he described (like Neal Cassady's lawless nature, , and drug use) was only what he saw in other people. Not everyone who read Kerouac's stories understood this. Some people wanted to blame him for doing bad things, or getting others to do them. Other people wanted to do those kinds of things with Kerouac. Shy by nature, Kerouac pulled away. He became almost a in the house he bought for his mother. He also began to abuse alcohol.

paragraphs: During the 1960s, American society went through many changes, in part because of the influence of the Beats. Many young people read "On the Road", and saw things they related to, and it made them want to experience more in their own lives. Other writers liked the looseness of Kerouac's style, and it made them think more about their own writing, how to study life, and how to better express themselves. Many musicians were affected by Kerouac's books, including Bob Dylan, Donovan, and The Doors.

paragraphs: Kerouac was more disappointed than happy to be famous. Even though he liked some of what he inspired, he felt that the public largely got the wrong message from his books. He saw many people take what the Beats wrote as a kind of permission to get into trouble, or abandon (give up) people and things they cared about. He felt for the , but disagreed with them on the Vietnam War, the role of government, and . He also lost some of his old friends, when their views differed.

paragraphs: Kerouac still abused alcohol and other drugs, and it harmed his health. He became bloated and irritable, and looked drunk on his last television appearance, on William F. Buckley's "Firing Line" in 1968. He married for the third time, to Stella Sampas, the sister of a boyhood friend. Stella looked after Kerouac and his mother, kept the public and others away, and tried to get him to stop drinking alcohol.

paragraphs: His daughter Jan-Michelle also began to write during her teen years. He gave her his , and told her "You can use my (last) name." She wrote under the name Jan Kerouac, and published novels and stories herself, from the 1970s to the 1990s. Kerouac's mother became sick, and he sometimes worked at her bedside on stories. She helped him work out the ending of "Pic", his novel about a young African-American.

paragraphs: Kerouac wrote and reworked new material until the last day of his life. He died in St. Petersburg, Florida during emergency surgery, to try to repair a caused by cirrhosis, due to his alcohol abuse. He was buried in his hometown, and was hardly remembered there at first. Even though he was world famous, Kerouac earned very little money as a writer. He died with only a few hundred dollars in the bank. It was years before his grave received a headstone.

paragraphs: Neal Cassady died more than a year before, of exposure, alongside a railroad track in Mexico. He set out to become a writer or musician, but he never got far with either. He only published one book, "The First Third", which was about his youth. Cassady earned most of his money from labor, and was often out of work and owed money. He spent a long time in jail after he was arrested for selling marijuana. Sometimes the fact that Cassady was well-known through Kerouac kept him from having the life he wanted. Cassady had a family with Carolyn, but she had to both work, and raise the children when her husband was away. Carolyn later wrote a memoir.

paragraphs: Kerouac's works, especially "On the Road", are now more popular than ever. Generations have discovered his works, as a means of learning about life and attitudes in America during his lifetime, as a way to measure their own sense of experience, or as examples of and in .

paragraphs: Less than half of Kerouac's writings were published during his lifetime, but nearly all are now available. The ones published later drew hundreds of times more money than his most famous works, when they first appeared. His hometown Lowell remembers Kerouac today with a , and cultural events every year. His grave now has a headstone, which reads "He honored life". A street in Lowell was renamed "Jack Kerouac Alley" in his memory.

paragraphs: "The Subterraneans" was made into a movie by MGM in 1960, but the was almost completely different from the book. "On the Road" was considered many times to be made into a movie, once with actor Marlon Brando as Dean Moriarty and another time with Sean Penn, but this never got farther than . The movie rights were resold in the 1990s, for more than ten times Kerouac's lifetime earnings, and a movie of "On the Road" appeared in 2012, starring Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund as Kerouac and Cassidy, with Kristen Stewart and Kirsten Dunst as LuAnne Henderson and Carolyn Cassady.

paragraphs: A movie, "Heart Beat", was made in 1980, about the relationship between Carolyn Robinson, Neal Cassady and Jack Kerouac. It starred Sissy Spacek, Nick Nolte, and John Heard.

paragraphs: Kerouac appears as "Hank" in William S. Burroughs's novel "Naked Lunch", and was played by Nicholas Campbell in the 1991 movie version.

paragraphs: He was also the subject of a song by 10,000 Maniacs, "Hey Jack Kerouac".

paragraphs: He and Neal Cassady are the subject of a song by Tom Waits, "Jack & Neal/California Here I Come". Waits also covered a song written by Kerouac, titled "On the Road", on his' album "Orphans".


title: Himno Istmeño

paragraphs: Himno Istmeño is the anthem of Panama. It was written by Santos Jorge. It is known as the Isthmus Anthem.


title: Jack Neo

paragraphs: Jack Neo (born Neo Chee Keong on 24 January 1956) is a Singaporean movie director at MediaCorp, a Singapore media company. He directed "I Not Stupid", "Money No Enough", "Ah Boys to Men" and "Ah Boys to Men 2", all of which were very popular. Neo was once a comedian.

paragraphs: Neo received the Best Director Award at the Silver Screen Awards in 1998. He was also awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award in the following year for his contributions to Singapore's media industry. In 2004, Neo became the first moviemaker in Singapore to be honoured with the Public Service Award. He also received the Cultural Medallion on 21 October 2005 together with musician Dick Lee.

paragraphs: In 2008, Neo and Mark Lee bought the Singapore master franchise rights for Old Town White Coffee. It is a coffee retail store from Ipoh, Malaysia. Their first store at Big Splash opened on 30 March in 2008.

paragraphs: Neo married Irene Kng in 1988 and they have four children. It is his second marriage. He is a Christian and worships at City Harvest Church.

paragraphs: In March 2010, it was revealed Neo had an affair with model Wendy Chong. Later it was reported that Neo tried to have relations with up to 11 women.


title: Fyodor Dostoyevsky

paragraphs: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (11 November 1821 – 9 February 1881) was a Russian novelist.

paragraphs: In his 20s he joined a group of radicals in St Petersburg They were into French socialist ideas. A police agent reported the group to the authorities. On 22 April 1849, Dostoyevsky was arrested and imprisoned with the other members. After months of questioning and investigation they were tried. They were found guilty of planning to distribute subversive propaganda and condemned to death by firing squad.

paragraphs: The punishment was changed to a sentence of exile and hard labour, but not before they were forced to go through a mock execution. In 1859 a new tsar allowed Dostoyevsky to end his Siberian exile. A year later he was back in St Petersburg. The experience had cost him ten years of his life. It is the root of all his writing.

paragraphs: Raised in an educated and religious family, Dostoyevsky's beliefs changed through his life. In prison, he focused intensely on the figure of Christ and on the "New Testament", the only book allowed in prison. In a letter to the woman who had sent him the "New Testament", Dostoyevsky wrote that he was a "child of unbelief and doubt up to this moment, and I am certain that I shall remain so to the grave". He also wrote that "even if someone were to prove to me that the truth lay outside Christ, I should choose to remain with Christ rather than with the truth".

paragraphs: From an analysis of religious ideas in "Crime and Punishment", "The Idiot", "The Demons" ("The Possessed"), and "The Brothers Karamazov", James Townsend thinks Dostoyevsky held orthodox Christian beliefs except for his view of salvation from sin. According to Townsend, "Dostoevsky almost seemed to embrace an in-this-life purgatory", in which people suffer to pay for their sins, rather than the Christian doctrine of salvation through Christ. Malcolm Jones sees elements of Islam and Buddhism in Dostoyevsky's religious convictions. Colin Wilson in "The Outsider" describes him as a "tormented half-atheist-half-Christian".

paragraphs: Many scholars see Dostoyevsky as one of the greatest psychologists in literature. His works have had a big effect on twentieth-century fiction. Very often, he wrote about characters who live in poor conditions. Those characters are sometimes in extreme states of mind. They might show both a strange grasp of human psychology as well as good analyses of the political, social and spiritual states of Russia of Dostoevsky's time. Many of his best-known works are prophetic. He is sometimes considered to be a founder of existentialism, most frequently for "Notes from Underground", which has been described as "the best overture for existentialism ever written". He is also famous for writing "The Brothers Karamazov", which many critics, such as Sigmund Freud, have said was one of the best novels ever written.

paragraphs: His attack on nihilism is in his great novel "Demons", or "The Possessed". Published in 1872, it is a "dark comedy, cruelly funny in its depiction of high-minded intellectuals toying with revolutionary notions without understanding anything of what revolution means in practice".

paragraphs: The plot is a version of actual events at the time. A former teacher of divinity turned terrorist, Sergei Nechaev, had written a pamphlet, "The Catechism of a Revolutionary", which argued that any means (including blackmail and murder) could be used to advance the cause of revolution. Nechaev planned to kill a student who questioned his ideas.

paragraphs: One of the characters in "Demons" confesses: "I got entangled in my own data, and my conclusion contradicts the original idea from which I start. From unlimited freedom, I conclude with unlimited despotism". This suggests that the result of abandoning morality for the sake of an idea will be tyranny more extreme than any in the past.

paragraphs: English versions of titles come after the Russian title.

paragraphs: The last five stories (1873-1877) are included in "A Writer's Diary".


title: Julia Grant

paragraphs: Julia Boggs Dent Grant (January 26, 1826 – December 14, 1902), was the wife of the 18th President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, and was First Lady of the United States from 1869 to 1877.

paragraphs: She was born at White Haven plantation west of St. Louis, Missouri. She was the daughter of Colonel Frederick Dent, a slaveholding planter and merchant, and Ellen Wrenshall-Dent.

paragraphs: After her schooling, she and Ulysses S. Grant got engaged in 1844. At that time, Ulysses S. Grant was a Lieutenant in the US Army. In the meanwhile, Mexican War began. Ulysses went to war. He returned from the war after many years. They married in 1848.

paragraphs: The Grants had three sons and a daughter:

paragraphs: She entered the White House in 1869 to begin, in her words, "the happiest period" of her life. With Cabinet wives as her allies, she entertained extensively and lavishly. The social highlight of the Grant years was the White House wedding of their daughter in 1874. Contemporaries noted her finery, jewels, and silks and laces. After four years of war, an assassination, and an impeachment trial, Washington was ready for a little levity, and Julia obliged. She offered a full array of events and became a popular hostess. She planned lavish state dinners, where guests enjoyed expensive wines and liquors.

paragraphs: As First Lady it was suggested to her that she have an operation to correct her crossed eyes, but President Grant said that he liked her that way.

paragraphs: Upon leaving the White House in 1877, the Grants made a trip around the world. Julia proudly recalled details of hospitality and magnificent gifts they received. A highlight of the trip was an overnight stay and dinner hosted for them by Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle in England. They also enjoyed a swing through the Far East, being cordially received at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo by the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

paragraphs: In 1884 Grant suffered yet another business failure and they lost all they had.

paragraphs: She became the first First Lady to write a memoir, though she was unable to find a publisher, and had been dead almost 75 years before "The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant (Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant)" was finally published in 1975.

paragraphs: She had attended in 1897 the dedication of Grant's monumental tomb overlooking the Hudson River in New York City. She was laid to rest in a sarcophagus beside her husband. She had ended her own chronicle of their years together with a firm declaration: "the light of his glorious fame still reaches out to me, falls upon me, and warms me."


title: Jane Pierce

paragraphs: Jane Means Appleton Pierce (March 12, 1806 – December 2, 1863), wife of U.S. President Franklin Pierce, was First Lady of the United States from 1853 to 1857.

paragraphs: Her father’s name was Jesse Appleton. When her father died, her mother moved with her to Amherst, New Hampshire.

paragraphs: How she met Pierce, a young lawyer with political ambitions, is unknown, but her brother-in-law Alpheus S. Packard was one of Pierce's instructors at Bowdoin. Franklin, almost 30, married Jane, 28, on November 19, 1834, at the bride's maternal grandparents' home in Amherst, New Hampshire. The Reverend Silas Aiken, Jane's brother-in-law, conducted the small ceremony. The couple honeymooned six days at the boardinghouse of Sophia Southurt near Washington, D.C..

paragraphs: Franklin Pierce was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives by the time they married and became a U.S. Senator in 1837. Jane hated life in Washington, D.C., and encouraged her husband to resign his Senate seat and return to New Hampshire, which he did in 1842. Service in the Mexican-American War brought him the rank of Brigadier General and local fame as a hero. He returned home safely, and for four more years the Pierces lived quietly at Concord, New Hampshire, in the happiest period of their lives, where they watched their son Benjamin "Benny" grow up.


title: Lucy Webb Hayes

paragraphs: Lucy Ware Webb Hayes (August 28, 1831 – June 25, 1889) was a First Lady of the United States and the wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes.

paragraphs: Lucy was nicknamed "Lemonade Lucy." She did not serve alcohol in the White House.

paragraphs: She was born in Chillicothe, Ohio. She was the daughter of James Webb, a doctor, and Maria Cook-Webb. Lucy was descended from seven veterans of the American Revolution. Her father died when she was a child. With her mother, she moved to Delaware, Ohio where in 1847 she met Rutherford B. Hayes.

paragraphs: Lucy Hayes studied at Ohio Wesleyan University. She was the first First Lady to graduate from college.

paragraphs: As First Lady, Hayes supported her husband's ban of alcoholic beverages at state functions, excepting only the reception for Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia in 1877, at which wine was served. She also instituted the custom of conducting an Easter egg roll on the White House lawn. A devout Methodist, she joined the president in saying prayers after breakfast and conducting group hymn sings with the cabinet and congressmen on Sunday evenings.

paragraphs: The Hayes had four sons and a daughter to live to their adulthood:

paragraphs: She died of a stroke on June 25, 1889. When she died, people in the United States lowered the flag to half-mast.


title: Caroline Harrison

paragraphs: Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison (October 1, 1832 - October 25, 1892) was the wife of Benjamin Harrison. She was the First Lady of the United States from 1889 until her death.

paragraphs: Her birthplace was Oxford, Ohio. Her parents were Mary Potts Neal and Dr. John W. Scott. She met the young Ben when he was a student at Miami University. They married on 20th October 1853. They had three children. Their first child was Russell Benjamin (1854-1936). Their second child was Mary Scott (1856-1930). Their third child was a daughter, born in 1861. In the same year, their third child died.

paragraphs: When her husband became the President of the United States in 1889, they both moved to the White House. Caroline gave stylish parties. She became sick with tuberculosis. She could not participate in social functions after that. She died of tuberculosis on 25th October 1892.


title: Helen Herron Taft

paragraphs: Helen Louise Herron "Nellie" Taft (June 2, 1861 – May 22, 1943) was the wife of William Howard Taft and First Lady of the United States from 1909 to 1913.

paragraphs: Her parents were Harriet Collins and John W. Herron. She was their fourth child. She spent her childhood in Cincinnati, Ohio.

paragraphs: When Helen Herron was 18 years old, she met Will Taft. They married in 1886. William Howard Taft and Helen Herron Taft had three children:

paragraphs: She was a part of her husband’s rise in administration and politics. When her husband became the president, she gave special attention to the social life at the White House. When she suffered from stroke, her daughter Helen Taft Manning left college for a year to look after the social life at the White House.

paragraphs: During their stay at the White House, the couple celebrated their silver wedding anniversary in 1911. People celebrate a silver anniversary after 25 years of any occasion. She had also written a book named "Recollections of Full Years". The book tells about her work and life. Her husband died in 1930. She continued to live in Washington D.C. after the death of her husband. She died on May 22, 1943.


title: Mary McElroy

paragraphs: Mary Arthur McElroy (July 5, 1841 – January 8, 1917) was the sister of the 21st President of the United States, Chester A. Arthur, and served as a hostess for his administration (1881–1885). She assumed the role because Arthur's wife, Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur, had died only a year and a half earlier.

paragraphs: She was born in Greenwich, New York. Her parents were William and Malvina S. Arthur. Her parents had nine children, Mary being the last. In 1880, her brother Chester Arthur, became the Vice President of the United States. In July 1881, after the assassination of the President, James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur became the president of the United States and he requested his sister to become "First Lady" during his term in office.

paragraphs: In November 1880, McElroy's brother Chester Arthur was elected vice president. In July 1881, President James Garfield was fatally wounded and died on September 19, 1881. Arthur succeeded him, and asked McElroy to care for his young daughter Ellen and act as "Mistress of the White House." Because she had her own family in Albany, McElroy lived in Washington, D.C. only during the busy winter social season. Although Arthur never officially granted her the protocol of a formal position, she proved to be a popular and competent hostess. The procedures she and her brother developed for the social functions were used by future First Ladies for decades.

paragraphs: McElroy presided over a number of events and honored former First Ladies Julia Gardiner Tyler and Harriet Lane, James Buchanan's niece and social hostess, by asking them to help her receive guests at the White House. McElroy's oldest daughter May and Arthur's daughter Nell often assisted. Her final reception took place on February 28, 1885, one week before the end of the Arthur administration: 3,000 people attended (including Adolphus Greely) and 48 daughters of officials and of the social elite assisted her.

paragraphs: When her brother retired as the President, Mary went to live in Albany, New York.

paragraphs: She died on January 8, 1917 at the age of 75 in Albany, New York.


title: Frances Folsom Cleveland

paragraphs: Frances Clara Folsom Cleveland Preston (July 21, 1864 – October 29, 1947) was the wife of the President of the United States Grover Cleveland and the 27th First Lady of the United States from 1886 to 1889 and again from 1893 to 1897.

paragraphs: She was born in Buffalo, New York. Her birth name was Frances Clara Folsom. Her parents were Emma C. Harmon and Oscar Folsom. Her father later became a law partner of Grover Cleveland. All of her ancestors were from England. Cleveland was a family friend to Oscar's family. After Oscar’s death, Cleveland looked after the family. He arranged for education of Frances Folsom. She studied at Wells College. Cleveland and Frances Folsom sent letters to each other.

paragraphs: In 1885, Frances Folsom and her mother came to White House to meet Cleveland. Cleveland and Frances Folsom became close to each other, despite being around 27 years younger than Cleveland. On 2 June 1886, they married. This was the first and only couple to wed in the White House. When Frances Folsom became Mrs. Cleveland, she took the role of the First Lady. She gave two receptions every week. She became very popular.

paragraphs: In 1888, Cleveland lost the election. The couple lived in New York City. There their first child Ruth was born. In 1886, Cleveland again became the president. Frances Folsom again became active as the First Lady. In 1893, she gave birth to a second child, Esther. In 1895, she bore a third child, named Marion. By the time Cleveland had retired, Frances Folsom had become a very popular First Lady.

paragraphs: The couple retired to live in Princeton, New Jersey. During this time, they had two sons. She was by her husband’s side when he died in 1908. In 1913, Frances remarried. Her second husband was Thomas J. Preston, Jr., a professor of archeology.

paragraphs: Frances Folsom lived until the age of 83, and had become well known in the Princeton University community.


title: Betty Ford

paragraphs: Elizabeth Anne Ford ("née" Bloomer; April 8, 1918 – July 8, 2011) was the widow of Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States. She was the First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977.

paragraphs: She was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her birth name was Betty Bloomer. Her parents were Hortense Neahr and William Stephenson Bloomer. She was the third child of her parents. She had two older brothers named Robert and William, Jr. She spent her childhood in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated from school there. In 1935, she graduated in dance from the Calla Travis Dance Studio. She gave dance lessons to earn money during the Great Depression.

paragraphs: Betty Bloomer married William G. (Bill) Warren, a furniture salesman. But the marriage did not last long. They divorced in 1947.

paragraphs: After that she started dating Gerald Ford. Ford was a good football player at his college, and a graduate of the University of Michigan and Yale Law School. They married on October 15, 1948. The Fords have three sons and one daughter:

paragraphs: As of 2005, the Fords have seven grandchildren.

paragraphs: In 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned. Nixon had named Gerald Ford as the Vice President of the United States. After Nixon's resignation, Ford became the 38th President of the United States. Betty Ford became the First Lady.

paragraphs: As the First Lady, Betty Ford played an active role. She spoke on many issues. She spoke on political and many other things. She had an open mind, and spoke honestly about benefit of mild psychiatric treatment. She also talked about marijuana use and premarital sex. She always supported women's rights. Her surgery for breast cancer made the public more aware of this disease.

paragraphs: In 1987, Betty Ford found a place into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame. In 1978, she published her autobiography "The Times of My Life". In 1999, President Gerald Ford and Betty Ford jointly got the Congressional Gold Medal, "in recognition of their dedicated public service and outstanding humanitarian contributions to the people of the United States of America."

paragraphs: In 2003, Betty Ford published "Healing and Hope: Six Women from the Betty Ford Center Share Their Powerful Journeys of Addiction and Recovery".

paragraphs: She was the active Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Betty Ford Center, until 2005, when she gave that position to her daughter, Susan.

paragraphs: Betty Ford died on July 8, 2011 with her family by her bed.


title: Edith Roosevelt

paragraphs: Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt (August 6, 1861 - September 30, 1948), was the second wife of Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States. She acted as the First Lady of the United States from 1901 to 1909.

paragraphs: She was born in Norwich, Connecticut. Her parents were Charles (1825-1883) and Gertrude Tyler Carow (1836-1895). She spent her childhood in old New York City. As small children, Edith Kermit Carow and Corinne Roosevelt Robinson (younger sister of Theodore Roosevelt) played together. During childhood, she and "Teedie" (nickname of Theodore Roosevelt) were in and out of each other's houses.

paragraphs: Edith went to Roosevelt's wedding with Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt in 1880. Soon Alice Hathaway died. In 1885, Rooservelt married Edith.

paragraphs: Theodore Roosevelt and Edith were married in London in December 1886. They settled down in a house on Sagamore Hill, at Oyster Bay, headquarters for a family that added five children in ten years: Theodore Jr., Kermit, Ethel Carow, Archibald Bulloch, and Quentin. Throughout Roosevelt's intensely active career, family life remained close and entirely delightful.

paragraphs: After assassination of President William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt became the President. Mrs. Roosevelt became the First Lady. She guarded the privacy of her family. Still she was an active First Lady. The White House became a social center of that time.

paragraphs: After her husband’s death in 1919, she spent more or less a retired life. She also traveled outside the USA. But, she always came back to Sagamore Hill as her home. In 1932, she briefly came out of her retirement. She gave a speech in support of Herbert Hoover’s re-election for the presidency of the United States. At that time, her nephew-in-law Franklin Delano Roosevelt was also a candidate for the post of the president of the United States. She died at her Oyster Bay home in New York on September 30, 1948, at the age of 87.


title: Lucretia Garfield

paragraphs: Lucretia Rudolph-Garfield (April 19, 1832 – March 14, 1918), wife of James A. Garfield, was First Lady of the United States in 1881.

paragraphs: She was born in Garrettsville, Ohio. Her father was Zeb Rudolph, a farmer and co-founder of the Eclectic Institute at Hiram, and her mother was Arabella Mason-Rudolph. Lucretia "Crete" Rudolph was a devout member of the Churches of Christ. She was of German, Welsh, English and Irish ancestry. Lucretia Garfield's paternal great-grandfather immigrated to Pennsylvania (in a part that is now Delaware) from Württemberg, Germany.

paragraphs: She first met James A. Garfield while both were attending a school. They renewed their friendship in 1851 as students of the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute. They got married on November 11, 1858.

paragraphs: In 1881, Garfield became the President of the United States. The family moved into the White House. Even at the age of 49, she was slim and looked lovely. She was not very much interested in her role as the First Lady. But, she was a charming lady and hosted parties at the White House. In May 1881, she fell ill and was suffering from malaria. She was resting at Long Branch, New Jersey, and was yet to become fit. At that time, she heard the news that someone had shot President Garfield, her husband. She rushed to Washington by train. On its way, the train met with an accident. She did not suffer any injury. When she reached Washington, she remained by the side of her husband. He could not remain alive and died after about three months.

paragraphs: After his death, she left for Ohio. There she lived for 36 years, and spend her time in arranging and caring for the records of her husband’s career. A part of her home became a library for presidential library of her husband’s papers.

paragraphs: She died at her home in South Pasadena, California on March 4, 1918. Her casket was placed above ground beside the coffin of her husband in the lower level crypt of the presidential tomb at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.


title: Biotechnology

paragraphs: Biotechnology is a technology that involves the use of living organisms. Biotechnology is mainly used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. In biotechnology, living organisms are used to make useful chemicals and products or to perform an industrial task.

paragraphs: An example of biotechnology is the use of the fermentation reaction in yeast to make beer and other alcoholic drinks. Another example is the use of carbon dioxide produced by yeast to make bread rise.

paragraphs: Biotechnology is often used to refer to genetic engineering technology of the 21st century. However, the term is used for many ways of modifying biological organisms for the needs of humanity. It started with modifications of native plants into improved food crops through artificial selection and hybridization. Bioengineering is the science upon which all biotechnological applications are based. With the development of new approaches and modern techniques, traditional biotechnology industries are also acquiring new horizons enabling them to improve the quality of their products and increase the productivity of their systems.

paragraphs: Biotechnology has also made cloning (the process duplicating organisms) possible. A lot of people think that this is morally wrong while others think it could solve many diseases.

paragraphs: Biotechnology can be used to solve a great number of problems, ranging from product efficiency to reducing global warming.


title: Ida Saxton McKinley

paragraphs: Ida Saxton McKinley (June 8, 1847 – May 26, 1907), wife of William McKinley, was First Lady of the United States from 1897 to 1901.

paragraphs: She was born in Canton, Ohio. Her father was James A. Saxton, who was a famous banker. He educated Ida and their sister well. After their schooling, they went to Europe on a tour.

paragraphs: She started to work as a cashier in a bank. In 1867, Major William McKinley came to Canton to start his work as a lawyer. Ida and William McKinley came to know each other, and they fell in love. They married each other. While her husband devoted time to his work and career, Ida devoted time to her home and husband.

paragraphs: She had a daughter on the Christmas Day of 1871. They named their daughter Katherine. She bore a second daughter in April 1873. At that time Ida was very weak and ill. The second daughter dies in August. Their first daughter also died in 1876. By this time, Ida had become very weak and an invalid.

paragraphs: In the meanwhile, her husband has become a Congressman. He them became a governor of Ohio. He always paid his attention to his wife and cared for her. She spent most of her time in a small Victorian rocking chair. This chair was with her since her childhood.

paragraphs: When they entered the White House, Ida’s health was very weak. She took the role of the First Lady, but while seated in a blue velvet chair. She sat by the side of her husband during official dinners. The President kept a careful watch on her condition. At that time, very few people know of her bad physical condition. Only in recent years, people came to know of her bad physical condition.

paragraphs: Just after his second term as the President of the United States, an assassin shot William McKinley. McKinley at that time also remembered his wife’s weak condition. He told his secretary: “My wife…be careful, how you tell her; oh, be careful.”

paragraphs: After her husband’s death, Ida Saxton McKinley returned to Canton. Her younger sister cared for her. She visited her husband’s grave almost daily. She died in 1907. She lies buried by the side of her husband and their two daughters in Canton’s McKinley Memorial Mausoleum.


title: Edith Bolling Wilson

paragraphs: Edith White Bolling Galt Wilson (October 15, 1872 — December 28, 1961), second wife of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, was First Lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921. She met the President in March 1915 and they married nine months later.

paragraphs: Her husband had suffered a long illness. There were many things which the President was needed to do which he could not do. She helped him. Because of this, some people had called her "the Secret President" and "the first woman to run the government".

paragraphs: Wilson was born in Wytheville, Virginia. Her parents were Sallie White and Judge William Holcombe Bolling. She was their seventh child, out of the total eleven children. Through her grandmother, she was a direct descendant of Pocahontas.

paragraphs: When she was 15 years old, she attended Martha Washington College to study music. She attended the second year at a smaller school in Richmond, Virginia.

paragraphs: Once when she was visiting her married sister in Washington, DC, Edith met Norman Galt. Norman Galt was a rich jeweler. She married him in 1896. For 12 years, she lived a good life in Washington D. C. But, she also faced some tragedies. In 1903, she gave birth to a son. The child only lived for a few days. The problem birth made her unable to have any more children. In 1908, her husband died. Edith Galt picked a manager to run the family’s jewelry business. The business continued to earn money.

paragraphs: In 1915, President Wilson and Edith Galt met each other. President Wilson liked her and asked her to marry him. They married on 18th December 1915. While asking her to marry him, President Wilson had said like a poet: "in this place time is not measured by weeks, or months, or years, but by deep human experiences..."

paragraphs: Their love and romance also created a lot of talks in the social circle. Once an article in a Washington newspaper was about the Wilson couple. It talked of the couple while they were seeing a play in a theater before their marriage. The article stated: "The President gave himself up for the time being to "entertaining" his fiancee" But a printing error made it read like this: "The President gave himself up for the time being to "entering" his fiancee." The publishers called back the newspapers with the printing error. Still a few copies could not be called back. These copies are now very wanted items.

paragraphs: Mrs. Wilson had all the qualifications to act as the First Lady. She began her role as the First lady. During this time, World War I started. This limited the social activities at the White House. In 1917, the United States also joined the war. Mrs. Wilson started helping her husband who was under a lot of pressure because of the war. She also went with him to Europe during the process of peace.

paragraphs: President Wilson returned from Europe. He spent much of his time trying to get the Senate’s approval for the peace treaty. He was also trying to get approval for an agreement to create the League of Nations. In the meantime, his health was getting bad.

paragraphs: In September 1919, he suffered a stroke. He became partially paralyzed. Edith Wilson always stayed with him. She took over many common duties of the government and helped her husband in many official matters. At the same time, she sent many other official matters to the heads of departments or allowed them to remain undone.

paragraphs: She also wrote a book. The name of the book is "My Memoir". Its year of publication is 1939. In this book, she said that her husband’s doctors had asked her to take up many responsibilities of her husband. Many historians do not agree with her views.

paragraphs: Phyllis Levin, a historian had described her as "a woman of narrow views and formidable determination". He blamed her for many failures of the policies of the United States after the First World War.

paragraphs: In 1921, the Wilson couple retired to live in Washington. After three years her husband, Woodrow Wilson, died. She continued to live in Washington. People liked her, and she became a respected figure in the high society of the capital. Some people say that she liked and admired younger men. She lived a long life and lived to see President John F. Kennedy's inaugural parade. She died on December 28, 1961, the 105th anniversary of her second husband's birth. At the time of her death, she was 89 years. This made her the seventh longest-lived First Lady after Bess Truman, Nancy Reagan, Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Barbara Bush and Rosalynn Carter, respectively.


title: Florence Harding

paragraphs: Florence "Flossie" Mabel Kling Harding, previously DeWolfe (August 15, 1860 – November 21, 1924), wife of President Warren G. Harding, was the First Lady of the United States from 1921 to 1923.

paragraphs: Her birthplace is Marion, Ohio. Her birth name was Florence (Flossie) Mabel Kling. Her father’s name was Amos Kling. He was a rich and successful businessman. She was of German descent and French Huguenot ancestry. She did a course in music.

paragraphs: When she was 19 years old, she ran away from her home along with her childhood friend named Henry De Wolfe. No document is available to prove their legal marriage. But, the “common law” of Ohio covered such marriages. De Wolfe turned out to be a heavy drinker and he spent a lot of money. Florence bore a son to him. The son’s name was Marshall Eugene De Wolfe, also known as Marshall Eugene Kling. Soon after the birth of her son, she divorced De Wolfe in 1886. She returned to Marion, and started living there. She also started using her maiden name, that is, the name before her marriage. De Wolfe died when he was 35 years old.

paragraphs: She started to give piano lessons and started earning. However, her father did not like her daughter working and earning in this way. It was difficult for her to watch her son, and to give piano lessons. So she agreed to a proposal of his father. He gave her son to her parents to raise him. But, she continued to give piano lessons.

paragraphs: Charity (Chat) Harding was one of her students. She was the eldest sister of Warren G. Harding. Harding was the young publisher of the town’s only newspaper named Marion Daily Star. Now, this paper’s name is the Marion Star. Florence became closer to Warren G. Harding. The two married in 1891. The couple did not get any children of their own. But, Florence’s son Marshall Eugene De Wolfe sometimes lived with them.

paragraphs: Florence started to help her husband and his newspaper. Once she told: "I have only one real hobby - my husband." The newspaper’s circulation grew. Harding was also rising in politics of Ohio. He became a senator of the United States. In 1920, he won the US presidential elections.

paragraphs: When the Harding couple moved into the White House, she opened the grounds to the public. Earlier, due to the illness of President Woodrow Wilson the grounds and the mansion had been closed. In 1920, she suffered kidney problems. But, still she continued as an active First lady.

paragraphs: In the summer of 1923, the Harding couple started on their nationwide "Voyage of Understanding". During this journey, the President died in San Francisco, California in August 1923.

paragraphs: After the death of her husband, she tried to make a new life for her. She wanted to live in Washington for some time. However, her kidney problems increased. She returned to Marion for treatment and recovery. The treatment continued for months but could not save her life. She died on 21st November 1924.

paragraphs: She lies buried alongside her husband in the Harding Memorial in Marion, Ohio. Many historians think this be the most beautiful of Presidential Tombs in the United States.


title: Lou Henry Hoover

paragraphs: Louise "Lou" Henry Hoover (March 29, 1874 - January 7, 1944) was the wife of Herbert Hoover, the President of the United States. As the wife of the president, she acted as the First Lady of the United States from 1929 to 1933.

paragraphs: Her birthplace is Waterloo, Iowa. Her parents were Charles D. Henry and Florence. She spent her first ten years of her life at Iowa. Then, her father thought that the climate of southern California would be good for the health of Florence, his wife. The family came to live in Whittier, California. The place was later the childhood home of President Richard Nixon.

paragraphs: Her father, Charles Henry took her on camping trips. She became a very good horsewoman. She also hunted. She also developed interest for rocks, mineral, and mining.

paragraphs: She studied in two schools and got a certificate in teaching. Then she came to study at the Stanford University in 1894. She completed her course and became the first woman in Stanford's geology department. There she had met in a laboratory Herbert Hoover, her senior at the University.

paragraphs: Lou and Herbert Hoover married in 1899. Once Herbert Hoover said that her blue eyes and broad grins had attracted him.

paragraphs: The newlywed couple went to China where her husband became famous as a mining engineer. He also worked in many other countries and places of the world: for examples, in places in Ceylon, Burma, Siberia, Australia, Egypt, Japan, and Europe.

paragraphs: She had two sons: Herbert Charles Hoover (August 4, 1903 - July 9, 1969) and Allan Hoover (July 17, 1907 - November 4, 1993).

paragraphs: Her husband, Herbert Hoover earned a lot of fame after the First World War. He became famous for his good work in managing emergency relief programs. She lived with him, but sometimes spent time with her two sons in California. In 1919, the couple started constructing a house at Palo Alto, California. By this time, her husband became United States Secretary of Commerce. The couple lived in Washington for eight years. She did well socially as a wife of the Cabinet Secretary. She also took an active role in the Girl Scouts of the USA. She also served as the president of the Girl Scouts of the USA.

paragraphs: In 1929, the Hoover couple came to live into the White House. Lou Henry Hoover had a long experience as wife of a famous man who had worked in the United States and in many foreign countries. She started her role as the First Lady. She was charming and dressed handsomely. She did it very well all through the term of her husband as the President. However, during this period, the Hoovers broke a tradition. On the New Year’s Day of 1933, they were away from the White House. Thus, they were not present to greet the public personally. Their absence ended the tradition of the President and the First Lady greeting the public on the New Year’s Day.

paragraphs: In 1933, the Hoovers couple retired to Palo Alto. But, they also kept an apartment in New York. Mrs. Hoover died on 7th January 1944 at the age of 69. She died of a heart attack. After her death, Mr. Hoover came to know of many gifts given by his wife. She had helped many boys and girls to get education. Mr. Hoover described her as: "a symbol of everything wholesome in American life."

paragraphs: Now, their house in Palo Alto is the official residence of the President of Stanford University. The house is one of the National Historic Landmarks. Lou Henry Hoover Elementary School in Whittier (built in 1938) bears her name in her honor. Her statue stands at the place where her childhood home was at Waterloo, Iowa.


title: Eleanor Roosevelt

paragraphs: Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (October 11, 1884 − November 7, 1962) was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, holding the post from 1933 to 1945 during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms in office.

paragraphs: She was also a political leader in her own right. She supported the civil rights movement. After the death of her husband in 1945, she started her career, as an author, speaker and spokesperson for human rights. She became a new role model for First Lady. President Harry S. Truman called her the "First Lady of the World", in honor of her many travels to help promote human rights.

paragraphs: Roosevelt received 35 honorary degrees during her life.

paragraphs: Her birthplace is 56 West 37th Street, New York City, New York. Her parents were Elliott Roosevelt I and Anna Hall Roosevelt. Two brothers followed young Anna Roosevelt. The Roosevelt family was completed with the addition of Elliott Jr. (1889-1893) and Hall Roosevelt (1891-1941). She is a fifth-cousin, once removed of Franklin Roosevelt, who later became her husband.

paragraphs: She was a favorite niece of Theodore Roosevelt, one of the Presidents of the United States.

paragraphs: Her family was a descendant of Claes Martenszen van Rosenvelt. He had came to New Amsterdam, Manhattan from the Netherlands in the 1640s. His grandsons, Johannes and Jacobus, began two branches of the Roosevelt family. Descendants of Johannes were Roosevelt family of the Oyster Bay, New York. Descendants of Jacobus were Roosevelt family of Hyde Park, New York. Eleanor was a descendant of the Johannes branch. Her future husband, Franklin was descended from the Jacobus branch.

paragraphs: Theodore Roosevelt, one of the Presidents of the United States, was her uncle. He was like a father to Eleanor, the future First Lady. Anna Eleanor liked to use the name Eleanor, using her name as Anna Eleanor only in official papers and for signing bank checks. From her mother side, she was a descendent of William Livingston, a signer of the U.S. Constitution.

paragraphs: Her parents died early. After this, her maternal grandmother, Marry Ludlow Hall (1843-1919) raised her. She spent her childhood in Tivoli, New York. Most of her mother’s family members tended to look down at her, perhaps because of her plain looks and six-foot tall frame. Even her Hyde Park Roosevelts, including her future mother-in-law, Sara Delano Roosevelt, would remark to her about the Manhattan Roosevelts: "we got all the looks and the money."

paragraphs: In recent times, allegations have surfaced that in her maternal grandmother’s home, she felt insecure. Many male members used to consume a lot of drinks. Once when she was visiting her aunt Bamie Roosevelt (sister of Theodore Roosevelt), she broke down and in tears exclaimed, "I have no real home."

paragraphs: Aunt Bamie was very helpful. She tried to find better educational opportunities for her. She arranged that Eleanor go to England for education, and Eleanor readily agreed.

paragraphs: Eleanor received encouragement from Bamie Roosevelt, sister of Theodore Roosevelt, to get a good education. She went to London, and started her studies in a girls’ boarding school at Allenswood, outside London. She studied there from 1899 to 1902. Mademoiselle Marie Souvestre was her headmistress. Later Eleanor would recall that Souvestre was one of the three main persons to influence her life.

paragraphs: During summers, Eleanor visited Europe along with her headmistress, Souvestre. She also studied history, language and literature. She became interested in social justice, and her studies gave her knowledge and confidence to present her views on many issues. One of her great moments at her school at Allenswood was when she made the field hockey team. She was one of the favorite students of the school, and when she returned to the USA, the school missed her.

paragraphs: In 1902 Eleanor and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) met when he was a student at Harvard. They dated and got engaged in November 1903. However, FDR’s mother was against their marriage. She even sent FDR on a long tour to delay the marriage, and change FDR’s mind. However, on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17, 1905) FDR and Eleanor married. President Theodore Roosevelt took the ceremonial role of giving the bride away. After the marriage, Eleanor’s mother-in-law, continued to advise (and perhaps interfere) in the young couple’s life.

paragraphs: After her husband’s death in 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt continued to live on the Hyde Park Estate in a stone cottage near the main house. The structure originated as a small furniture factory Val-Kill Industries, and was converted to a cottage used by Eleanor and her close friends. The cottage afforded Eleanor a level of privacy that she had wanted for many years, and she considered it her first true home. The cottage is now called the Eleanor Roosevelt Center and hosts many programs that continue her legacy.

paragraphs: She started her role as the First Lady from 1933 with the beginning of her husband’s first term as the President of the United States. Eleanor was an active First Lady with her own ideology on many issues.

paragraphs: She supported the Civil Rights Movement and rights of the African-American. However, her husband needed the support of Democrats of southern states of the USA. Therefore, he was not vocal about the American Civil Rights Movement. Eleanor became his connection to the African-American population instead, helping Franklin Roosevelt to win a lot of votes.

paragraphs: In 1939, the African-American opera singer Marian Anderson was denied permission by the Daughters of the American Revolution to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington because of her race. Eleanor arranged for Anderson to perform on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, on Easter Sunday, to a live audience of 70,000. Millions of people also listened to the performance on the radio.

paragraphs: During the Second World War, Eleanor Roosevelt remained very active. Once she also co-chaired a committee on civil defense. She visited many places, both civilian and military, to boost war morale. She especially supported African Americans and women.

paragraphs: During the Second War, her husband, as the President of the United States, signed an order named Executive Order 9066. This order confined in special camps about 110,000 American citizens of Japanese descent. Eleanor opposed her husband's decision to sign this order.

paragraphs: For some period, she was earning $1,000 a week for advertising for the Pan-American Coffee Bureau. Eight foreign governments used to support and fund the Bureau. The US State Department tried to cancel the deal, but could not do so.

paragraphs: After the Second World War, she along with René Cassin, John Peters Humphrey and others, drafted a declaration for the United Nations: UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She also served as the first chairman of the U.N. Human Rights Commission. On 10th December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the declaration. This made her very famous, and was a great achievement for her.

paragraphs: For about four decades, beginning from 1920s until her death in 1962, Eleanor continued her association with political matters. She opposed the Equal Rights Amendment. She thought that this amendment would prevent the US Congress from passing other rules for protection of women workers.

paragraphs: Roosevelt was an accomplished archer, and one of the first modern women to participate in the sport of bow hunting. She even wrote using a male name “Chuck Painton” about her hunting experiences in a popular hunting magazine of that time, "Ye Sylvan Archer". One of Roosevelt's prized hunting trophies had adorned her husband library. It is now a part of the Community Forum Collection of the Smithsonian Institution.

paragraphs: In July 1949, her unsure attitude toward American Catholics caused a public debate with Francis Cardinal Spellman, the Catholic Archbishop of New York. Eleanor had written against certain proposals like funding of certain (nonreligious) activities, such as bus transportation for students, of Catholic schools. Spellman pointed out that the Supreme Court had recently upheld such provisions. He also accused her of anti-Catholicism. Most Democrats rallied behind Eleanor Roosevelt and supported her. Spellman came to Eleanor's Hyde Park home to bridge their differences.

paragraphs: In any case, Eleanor was never as popular among Catholics as her husband. They were also not happy at Eleanor’s support birth control movement. They had also resented her prewar (before the Second World War) sponsorship of the American Youth Congress, in which the Communists had been heavily represented, but Catholic youth groups were not represented.

paragraphs: In 1954, Carmine DeSapio campaigned against Eleanor's son, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., during the New York Attorney General elections. Franklin (Jr.) lost. Eleanor held DeSapio responsible for her son's defeat. She became disgusted with the political conduct of DeSapio through the rest of 1950s. She, joined with her old friends like Herbert Lehman and Thomas Finletter, succeeded in removing DeSapio from power in 1961.

paragraphs: Eleanor Roosevelt was a close friend of Adlai Stevenson. She supported his candidacies in the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections. She backed Stevenson once again in 1960 but John F. Kennedy received the presidential nomination.

paragraphs: In 1964, Eleanor Roosevelt helped in founding of the 2,800 acre Roosevelt Campobello International Park on Campobello Island, New Brunswick. This followed a gift of the Roosevelt summer estate to the Canadian and American governments.

paragraphs: Sara Delano Roosevelt was her mother-in-law. Even before Eleanor married FDR, She did not have a good relationship with Sara Delano. Biographers and historians still continue to discuss the issue and the reasons for their difficult relationship. However, in early years of her marriage, Eleanor valued suggestions from her mother-in-law until she herself could develop confidence in domestic matters.

paragraphs: Perhaps Sara wanted great success for her son, FDR, in all matters of life, including marriage. She had always given her affection to FDR to the extent of spoiling him. She even gave costly gifts to FDR and Eleanor’s children. Sometimes, Eleanor had problems, which came with such costly gifts of her mother-in-law.

paragraphs: Eleanor always enjoyed the good graces of her uncle Theodore Roosevelt, the main figure of the Oyster Bay Roosevelts. However, she found herself at odds with her cousin Alice Roosevelt. Alice was a daughter of Theodore Roosevelt. Uncle Theodore felt Eleanor's conduct more responsible, socially acceptable and cooperative than his own daughter Alice. Alice was beautiful and highly photogenic, but a rebellious person. Sometimes Theodore Roosevelt would tell her, "Why cannot you be more like 'cousin Eleanor'?" These experiences laid a lifelong unhappy relationship between two high profile cousins.

paragraphs: With the rise in the political career of FDR, relationships between Eleanor and Oyster Bay Roosevelts became worse. There were comments by "cousin Alice," such as her description of FDR as "two-thirds mush and one-third Eleanor". However, at FDR’s presidential inauguration in 1933, invitations went to Alice to attend along with her brothers Kermit Roosevelt and Archibald Roosevelt, with whom Eleanor was close.

paragraphs: In 1961, all volumes of her autobiography were compiled into "The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt". However, it will be printed some 45 years later.

paragraphs: Eleanor Roosevelt survived her husband by nearly 20 years. From 1919, she had suffered from bone marrow tuberculosis. It had recurred from time to time.

paragraphs: She died on the evening of November 7, 1962 at her apartment in Manhattan, New York City from tuberculosis. At the time of her death, she was 78 years old. She lies buried next to her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York. People liked her so much that a commemorative cartoon published at the time simply showed two angels looking down towards an opening in the clouds with the caption "She's here", since no introduction was needed and people could understand that “she” meant Eleanor Roosevelt.

paragraphs: Eleanor Roosevelt kept a lifelong strong loyalty with Theodore Roosevelt ("Uncle Ted"). Her belongings included her membership card for the Theodore Roosevelt Association.

paragraphs: In 1968 she received the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights. After her death, there was an unsuccessful move to award her Nobel Peace Prize.


title: Mamie Eisenhower

paragraphs: Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower (November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979) was the wife of United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961.

paragraphs: She was born in Boone, Iowa. Her father was John Sheldon Doud. He became very rich after earning much money in meatpacking industry. For sometime, Doud family lived in Pueblo, Colorado. Then the family settled Denver, Colorado. There Mamie and her three sisters grew in a big house. The family had many servants. Her mother was a daughter of Swedish immigrants.

paragraphs: In 1915, Mamie met Dwight D. Eisenhower. At that time, he was a young second lieutenant. On Valentine's Day in 1916 he gave her a ring as token of their engagement. On July 1, 1916, they married.

paragraphs: Their first son, Doud Dwight, was born in 1917. He died in 1921 of scarlet fever. A second son, John Eisenhower was born in 1922. He became an author, and also served as a U.S. ambassador to Belgium.

paragraphs: Their life was like any other family of army officers – moving from one place to another. Mamie once estimated that in 37 years, they shifted to at least 27 places. They lived in many places in the United States. They also lived near Panama Canal; in France; and in Philippines.

paragraphs: During the Second World War, “Ike” continued to rise in the army. She lived in Washington DC. After the Second World War, her husband became president of the Colombia University. They bought a farm at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the first home they had ever bought. Before becoming President of the United States, her husband also served as the commander of the of North Atlantic Treaty Organization

paragraphs: Mamie Eisenhower was the First Lady for eight years, from 1953 to 1961. She was a popular First Lady. She was a charming lady. She wore pretty dresses and jewelry. Many leaders from different countries came to the White House. They received a very good welcome.

paragraphs: Her recipe for "Mamie's million dollar fudge" was cooked by homemakers all over the country after it was printed in the news.

paragraphs: After retirement of her husband as the President of the United States, Mamie and her husband returned to Gettysburg. They lived there eight years retirement together. In 1969, her husband died. Mamie continued to live on the farm. She died on 1st November 1979. At the time of her death she was 82 years old. Her grave lies by the side of her husband’s grave in a small chapel. The chapel is a part of the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas.

paragraphs: A park in southeast Denver, Colorado bears her name.


title: Lady Bird Johnson

paragraphs: Lady Bird Johnson, (December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States (1963–69) during the presidency of her husband Lyndon B. Johnson. Before becoming First Lady, she was Second Lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963.

paragraphs: Johnson was born Claudia Alta Taylor in Karnack, Texas. Her parents were Minnie Patillo-Taylor (1868-1918) and T.J. Taylor. There is a story about her nickname, Lady Bird. Once a nursemaid said about her, "She's as purty as a ladybird.” This nickname continued, and people called her "Lady Bird." Some speculate that the nursemaid was referring to a "ladybug," which is also known as a "ladybird," when she gave Johnson this nickname. Johnson was of Danish, English, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry.

paragraphs: She completed her schooling from Marshall Senior High School in Marshall, Texas. After schooling, she studied journalism and art at the University of Texas at Austin.

paragraphs: On November 17, 1934, she married Lyndon Baines Johnson in San Antonio, Texas. They had two daughters. The names of her daughters are Lynda Bird Johnson and Luci Baines Johnson.

paragraphs: When she was a child, she developed love for the nature. Because of her efforts, the government of Texas agreed to plant wildflowers on the sides of the roads in Texas.

paragraphs: In 1963, a person shot John F. Kennedy, the President of the United States. Kennedy died after he was shot. At that time, Lady Bird Johnson’s husband, Lyndon B. Johnson, was the Vice President of the United States. Johnson became the President of the United States. Along with this, Lady Bird Johnson became the First Lady. She continued as the First Lady until 1969 till her husband retired as the President.

paragraphs: She was an active First Lady. She was the first First Lady to have a press secretary. Liz Carpenter, her fellow from the University of Texas, served as Lady Bird’s press secretary from 1963 until 1969. Carpenter also served as Lady Bird’s staff director.

paragraphs: As the First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson used her influence to achieve some new things for the society. Two important things were:

paragraphs: Even after retiring as the First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson continued to live an active life. She gave her time to programs that were for nature. She founded a non-profit organization. The name of the organization is Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The Center develops native plants of Americas and uses the same for cleaning up areas.

paragraphs: During 1970s, 1980s, and the early 1990s, Lady Bird Johnson was the most active presidential widow. During these years, Jacqueline Kennedy did not attend many functions, as she wanted to protect her privacy. However, with growing age, Lady Bird Johnson’s health became weak. She suffered two strokes: first one in August 1993, and the second one in May 2002. Her eyesight failed, and she could not speak. In February 2006, her daughter Lynda Johnson Robb informed people that her mother is now totally blind and that she "is not in very good health". Mrs. Robb said that she and her sister Luci Johnson Nugent still read to their mother and talk to her.

paragraphs: She was the only living Presidential widow from May 19, 1994 to June 5, 2004. This was the period between the death of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the day when Nancy Reagan was widowed. Lady Bird Johnson died on July 11, 2007. Lady Bird Johnson was 94 years old. She was the oldest First Lady alive until her death. She had even outlived Pat Nixon, who was First Lady after Johnson. Only one First Lady had lived longer: Bess Truman. Bess Truman had lived up to 97 years of age. Lady Bird Johnson, Bess Truman, Nancy Reagan and Betty Ford are the only four First Ladies to have lived over 90 years or more. The United States Secret Service continued to protect her until she died.

paragraphs: Many places and characters are named after Lady Bird Johnson:


title: Pat Nixon

paragraphs: Patricia Ryan Nixon (March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was the wife of Richard Nixon and served as the First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 and Second Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961.

paragraphs: Her birthplace was Ely, Nevada. Her birth name was Thelma Catherine Ryan. Her father’s name was William M. Ryan. Her mother’s name was Katherine "Kate" Halberstadt Ryan. Her ancestors from her father’s side were from Ireland. Her ancestors from her mother’s side were from Germany. Her mother was born in 1879 near Frankfurt, Germany.

paragraphs: Their family was not Catholic. But her father had got baptized as a Catholic, and perhaps returned to it shortly before her death. After her birth, her family moved near Los Angeles, California. They settled on a small truck farm in the city of Dairy Valley. Presently, the name of this place is Cerritos, California.

paragraphs: When Thelma grew and entered college, she legally changed her name to Patricia.

paragraphs: Pat's mother died in 1925. At that time, Pat was only 13 years old. She took over all the household duties for her father and two older brothers. In 1930, after months of illness, her father also died. At that time, Pat was only 18 years old.

paragraphs: During all these years, she worked on the family farm. She also worked in a local bank as a cleaner and bookkeeper.

paragraphs: In 1929, she graduated from Excelsior High School. For some time, she attended Fullerton Junior College. She worked in many jobs. Some of the jobs were the job of a driver, a X-ray technician, a pharmacy manager and a typist.

paragraphs: She had a will to continue her education. She studied at the University of Southern California. During her studies in the University, she did part-time jobs on campus. She also worked as a sales clerk in a fashionable department store and as an extra in the film industry. She can be seen in a brief walk-on in the 1935 movie Becky Sharp. Pat's efforts became successful. She graduated from the University of Southern California cum laude in 1937.

paragraphs: Patricia worked as a high school teacher in Whittier, California. Later, during World War II, she worked as a government economist.

paragraphs: Many persons have said about her: "Few, if any First Ladies worked as consistently before their marriage as did Pat Nixon." Once she had herself said: "I do or I die, but I never cancel out".

paragraphs: In Whittier, Pat Ryan met a young lawyer named Richard Nixon. He had just graduated from Duke University. The two became known to each other at an acting group. They also acted together in a play. They became closer and married on 21st June 1940 at in Riverside, California.

paragraphs: Richard Nixon served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, in 1946 Richard Nixon entered politics. He successfully ran for the Congress of the United States.

paragraphs: In 1946, she gave birth to a daughter Tricia Nixon Cox, called Tricia. In 1948, she gave birth to her second baby, Julie Nixon Eisenhower. The Nixon couple gave a lot of time and all the affection to their daughters despite official and other engagements.

paragraphs: Her husband, Richard Nixon rose very fast during next six years. He became a member of the United States House of Representatives, then a member of the United States Senate. Thereafter, he became the Vice President of the United States while Dwight D. Eisenhower became the President of the United States.

paragraphs: Pat went abroad along with her husband when he was the Vice President. On a trip to Venezuela, some people threw stones at their car and spat on the car.

paragraphs: The Nixon couple came to the White House in 1969. They started a tradition of inviting families to Sunday church services in the East Room of the White House. The President later discontinued these services due to concerns over the separation of Church and State. In short, separation of Church and the State says that religion and the government should remain separate from each other.

paragraphs: As the First Lady, she herself answered all her letters. Like Jacqueline Kennedy, she had an interest in adding artifacts to the White House. Her efforts brought about 600 paintings and furnishings into the White House Collection. Mrs. Nixon also arranged for a series of performances by artists at the White House. Among the guests were The Carpenters in 1972.

paragraphs: Pat Nixon went along with her husband to several other countries. Most important of such visits were to the People's Republic of China in 1972 and the summit meetings in the Soviet Union.

paragraphs: She went to Peru with materials to help the victims of an earthquake. She also went to Africa and South America as the Personal Representative of the president of the United States.

paragraphs: Pat Nixon had several other personal interests. She was an avid fan of soap operas, and 'Search for Tomorrow' was her favorite.

paragraphs: In August 1974, her husband resigned as the President of the United States. People say that while her husband was making his resignation speech, Mrs. Nixon was packing their things for moving out of the White House. They left the White House on 9th August 1974. They shifted to San Clemente, California to live.

paragraphs: Her husband resigned as the President of the United States. With this, her public and social life ended. She did not appear in public often. She was a lifelong heavy smoker in private. Her heath became very weak. In 1976, and again in 1982, she suffered a stroke. Richard Nixon said that she read a book about Watergate and became so upset that she had a stroke the next day. She also got mouth cancer and problems in her spinal cord. In December 1992, when she was in a hospital with emphysema, physicians found that she also had lung cancer.

paragraphs: She died of lung cancer at 5:45 am on June 22, 1993 at age 81. Her husband and daughters were by her side. Her husband died about ten months later. She and President Nixon lie buried at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California. Her epitaph reads: "Even when people cannot speak your language, they can tell if you have love in your heart".


title: Nancy Reagan

paragraphs: Nancy Davis Reagan (born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was the widow of Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989.

paragraphs: Reagan was born in Manhattan, New York City. Her parents divorced soon after her birth. She grew up in Maryland. In Maryland, she lived with an aunt and uncle while her mother looked for acting jobs. She was an actress in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in movies such as, "Donovan's Brain", "Night Into Morning" and "Hellcats of the Navy".

paragraphs: In 1952, she married Ronald Reagan who was then president of the Screen Actors Guild. They had two children, Ron and Patti. Reagan was the First Lady of California when her husband was Governor from 1967 to 1975. She became part of the Foster Grandparents Program.

paragraphs: Nancy Reagan became First Lady of the United States in January 1981 after her husband's election. She was criticized in his first term due to her decision to replace the White House china. Her interest in high-end fashion had much attention and criticism. She created the anti-drug campaign, "Just Say No" during her husband's presidency.

paragraphs: She always protected her husband and controversy occurred when it was revealed in 1988 that she had hired an astrologer to assist in planning the president's schedule after the 1981 assassination attempt on her husband. She had a strong influence on her husband. She played a role in a few of his personnel and diplomatic decisions.

paragraphs: The Reagans left the White House in 1989. Nancy devoted most of her time to caring for her ill husband who was diagnosed in 1994 with Alzheimer's disease until his death in 2004. Nancy Reagan remained active within the Reagan Library and in politics. Until her death, Reagan supported and advocated stem cell research.

paragraphs: She was born at Sloane Hospital for Women in Manhattan, New York City. Her birthname was Anne Frances Robbins. The names of her parents were Kenneth Seymour Robbins and Edith Luckett. Edith Luckett was an actress. When Nancy was six years old, her mother married Dr. Loyal Davis. Dr. Loyal Davis was a neurosurgeon. Dr. Davis adopted Nancy as his daughter when she was 16 years old. She changed her name to Nancy Davis because of this. She spent her childhood in Chicago, Illinois. She was also goddaughter of Russian-born silent movie star Alla Nazimova. Nancy studied at Girls' Latin School and at Smith College in Massachusetts. From Smith College, she was good in theater.

paragraphs: After her graduation, she became an actress. She acted in many plays and movies. One of them was the hit musical "Lute Song". She became famous as Nancy Davis. She had roles in eleven movies from 1949 to 1956. In a movie named Hellcats of the Navy (1957), she played a role. In the movie she co-starred along with her husband Ronald Reagan. Her last movie was 1958's "Crash Landing". After this, she appeared in television dramas until 1962. After 1962, she retired as an actress.

paragraphs: She met Ronald Reagan in 1951. At that time Reagan was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Another actress with the same name (of Nancy) had appeared in a Hollywood blacklist. This name confusion had created problems for Nancy. Anyone with his or her name in the Hollywood blacklist was unable to get any work in any movie. As she would not get any roles due to the name in the Hollywood blacklist, she met Reagan to clear this issue. Over a period of time, they came closer to each other. They married on March 4, 1952 in Los Angeles, California. Nancy once remembered: "My life really began when I married my husband."

paragraphs: The Reagans had two children. She gave birth to a daughter Patti Davis on October 21, 1952, seven months after the couple's wedding. She gave birth to a son named Ron Reagan on May 20, 1958. Nancy Reagan is also stepmother to Michael Reagan and the late Maureen Reagan. Michael and Maureen were the children of Ronald Reagan's first marriage to actress Jane Wyman.

paragraphs: Ronald Reagan was governor of California for two terms, from 1967 to 1975. During this period, Nancy Reagan was the First Lady of California.

paragraphs: The officials of the fire department had described official residence of the Governor in Sacramento, California as a “firetrap”. She then made Reagan and the whole family move to a wealthy suburb. Some people thought moving the governor's mansion was a bad idea.

paragraphs: She was very active as the First lady of California. She visited war veterans, the elderly people, and the handicapped people. She also worked with many groups working for charity. One such program was the Foster Grandparent Program. She continued her part with the Foster grandparent program when she came to Washington, D.C. as the First Lady of the United States.

paragraphs: When Ronald Reagan became President of the United States in 1981, Nancy Reagan began her role actively as the First Lady.

paragraphs: In her early years as the First Lady, a private foundation purchased new dishware for the White House. The cost was $200,000. This attracted bad publicity, as the US economy was facing recession at that time. She also used expensive fashion. This also attracted bad publicity sometimes. However, once in 1982 at Gridiron Club, she dressed in ragged clothes and sang "Second-Hand Rose". This made Nancy more popular.

paragraphs: Nancy Reagan took close interest in the affairs of the White House. Some people believe that she helped her husband make major decisions at the White House. People also remember her for conservative fashions. Her fashion was copied by many women of her time. She was also against use of drugs by young persons.

paragraphs: She also became interested in astrology as the First Lady. She used the services of Joan Quigley who was an astrologer. In 1981, her husband faced an assassination attempt. This made Nancy rely on astrology. She tried to influence appointments and movements of her husband based on astrology. At that time the White House Chief of Staff was Donald Regan. He did not find this very useful. There was a struggle between Donald Regan and the First Lady. Donald Regan resigned in 1987 because of this.

paragraphs: In October 1987, physicians found that Nancy Reagan had breast cancer. She underwent an operation, mastectomy.

paragraphs: In 1983 Reagan, Henry Kissinger (former Secretary of State) and philanthropists Barbara and Marvin Davis, appeared in an episode of the very popular soap opera Dynasty (TV series). In addition, Reagan appeared as herself in an episode of the popular sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes". She appeared on Diff'rent Strokes for her support for her "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign which she created.

paragraphs: Nancy Reagan lived in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California.

paragraphs: In 1991, Kitty Kelley wrote a book about her. The book’s name is "Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography". The book became very famous and sold many copies. The book gives certain details like the former First Lady's association with astrology. It also talked about her White House meetings with Frank Sinatra.

paragraphs: She spent much of her time caring for her husband who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Ronald Reagan died in their Bel Air home on June 5, 2004. She asked President George W. Bush to support research in the hopes that such research would lead to a cure for Alzheimer's disease.

paragraphs: In 2004, Bob Colacello wrote a book "Ronnie and Nancy: Their Path to the White House, 1911-1980", published by Warner Books.

paragraphs: In 2005 she had gone to London to visit Margaret Thatcher and Charles, Prince of Wales. There she slipped in her hotel room and had to undergo treatment in a hospital.

paragraphs: Following her husband's diagnosis and death, Nancy became a stem-cell research advocate. She urged Congress and President George W. Bush to support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. President Bush opposed the idea. In 2009, she praised President Barack Obama for lifting restrictions on such research. Mrs. Reagan has said that she believes that it could lead to a cure for Alzheimer's.

paragraphs: Reagan died on March 6, 2016 in her home in Bel Air, Los Angeles. She died of congestive heart failure. Reagan was aged 94. She was buried next to her husband at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on March 11.


title: Furniture

paragraphs: Furniture is the word that means all the things like chairs, tables and cupboards.

paragraphs: In other words, furniture are all the things that are in the house and that people can use to sit, to lie on or that are supposed to contain smaller things like cloths or cups. Furniture is made of wood, particle boards, leather, screws etc.

paragraphs: Different rooms have different furniture for different purposes. Offices have office furniture such as desks and office chairs. Dining rooms have a table and dining chairs. Theaters and classrooms have rows of seats facing forward.

paragraphs: Bedroom furniture includes a bed covered by sheets, a bedspread and maybe a blanket and pillow . Next to the bed is the nightstand or night table. A lamp may be on the nightstand. The dresser has drawers for clothes. On top of a dresser may be a mirror.


title: Rhythm

paragraphs: Rhythm refers to the length of time between each major "beat", or accent, such as in a piece of music. It is the sequence of sounds and silences which make up the rhythm. The first beat of a group of regular, evenly spaced beats usually feels stronger than the others. When we write music down, we put each group in bars (or “measures”).

paragraphs: Rhythms can have different patterns which can be clapped or tapped. In Western music, these patterns are common:

paragraphs: A conductor will beat time. The rhythm will fit in to this regular beat.

paragraphs: All musicians have to have a good sense of rhythm. To play or sing rhythmically they must keep a steady beat in their head (if playing alone), listen to the others players (if playing in groups) or watch the conductor (if there is one).

paragraphs: People who are playing on their own can practise with a metronome to help them to play to a steady beat. However, musicians also use rubato (rhythmic freedom), especially when playing music of a romantic nature. One has to learn to let the music “breathe” in the right way. This is not the same as playing unrhythmically (badly). It is something one learns with experience.

paragraphs: Feeling the rhythm in music is basically human. A person who has a stroke may lose language, but not the sense of rhythm. Neurologist Oliver Sacks says that chimpanzees and other animals do not have a sense of rhythm.

paragraphs: The word "rhythm" is used in other topics than music. The heart usually beats rhythmically, and when it does not, that is a sign of a health problem. Rhythms may be about much longer time periods than a bar of music. Everything living is rhythmic relating to the 24-hour light-dark cycle on earth. The moon has its rhythms and the tides have theirs.

paragraphs: Sometimes the word rhythm is used in a more general sense to mean the general flow of music or of life in general ("the rhythm of life").


title: Necessary

paragraphs: If something is necessary, it is very important, otherwise something will be impossible, or it will not work as it should do. The opposite is unnecessary.

paragraphs: Something that is necessary is a necessity.

paragraphs: The "bare necessities of life" are things like food, clothes and shelter (things you need to keep alive).


title: Inheritance

paragraphs: Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, and duties when someone dies. Those things usually go to family members. People have had laws about inheritance for thousands of years. Often the question is settled in a will.

paragraphs: If only sons and other male family members get the inheritance, it is called patrilineal succession. If only daughters and other female family members get the inheritance, it is called matrilineal succession.

paragraphs: Cultural inheritance is called legacy. Genetic inheritance is called heredity.

paragraphs: The person who gets the property and other things when someone dies is called the heir (male) or heiress (female).