“10 Defining Moments in the History of the American First Lady 1900-2023”

This week: Learn more about the events and challenges of some presidential wives in virtual lecture.

Oct. 19, 2023

The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics will present as part of its Presidential Lecture Series “10 Defining Moments in the History of the American First Lady 1900-2023” from 3 to 4:15 p.m. CDT Thursday. The program can be viewed on YouTube and will feature Myra G. Gutin, author and professor emerita of communication at Rider University, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and Diana B. Carlin, author and professor emerita of communication at Saint Louis University and a retired professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas where she taught a course on women in politics that included first ladies. 

The history of the American first lady has seen a number of defining moments, incidents or challenges that are distinctive and leave a clear impression of the presidential spouse. Included in this presentation are discussions of Eleanor Roosevelt and Marian Anderson (1936); Jacqueline Kennedy’s Tour of the White House (1962); Betty Ford and Breast Cancer (1974), Hillary …