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While in Ohio, get a glimpse of life “Beyond Camelot.” Plus, check out these other not-to-miss events.
Chanel suit. Pillbox hat. Yes, these are the indisputable style go-tos for former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Wait, the gloves — another signature accessory. Earlier this year, it was revealed at the National First Ladies’ Library that the gloves were worn, in part, to conceal her nicotine-stained fingers from smoking.
That tidbit and more never-before-seen artifacts donated by Monte Durham of “Say Yes to the Dress” Atlanta are on display at the Canton, Ohio, National First Ladies Library. The exhibition “Beyond Camelot: The Life and Legacy of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis” runs through April 27, 2024. The exhibition is free and open to the public. It’s presented by the National First Ladies Library and the National First Ladies Historic Site, 205 Market Avenue S., Canton, Ohio. The exhibit runs now through April 27, 2024. Read more
August 2, 2023
100th Anniversary of President Warren Harding’s Sudden Death Explored in Virtual Program
Warren G. Harding Presidential Sites will host “Death of a President,” a virtual program airing Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time. The 100-year anniversary of President Harding’s unexpected death will be discussed with Harding Presidential Sites Researcher Jon Andersen, Site Manager Sherry Hall and the president’s grand-nephew, Dr. Richard Harding. Learn about the health challenges faced by the president when he was taken ill in San Francisco, and his funeral services that followed, according to the site’s website. Read more
New Podcast
Learn About Jacqueline Kennedy’s Friend and Rose Garden Designer “Bunny” Mellon
Last month, The White House Historical Association released a new podcast from The White House 1600 Sessions series featuring a conversation with Thomas Lloyd, author and member of the Association’s National Council, about his book “Garden Secrets of Bunny Mellon.”
In the episode, Stewart McLaurin, president of the association, travels to the home of Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon, philanthropist, stylemaker and renowned gardener, to meet with Lloyd, Mrs. Mellon’s grandson, to talk about her most famous design — refurbishing the White House Rose Garden. Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, a close friend of Mellon, handcrafted a memory book for her, which also is discussed in the podcast. Listen here
Aug. 19 and 20, 2023
Celebrate First Lady Lucy Hayes’ Birthday
The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums will celebrate First Lady Lucy Hayes’ birthday on Aug. 19 and 20 with a weekend of hands-on activities including a flower arranging class, birthday tea, butterfly scavenger hunt and hands-on artifacts. The first lady would have turned 192 on Aug. 28. The activities chosen reflect Hayes’ interests. Read more
Temporary Exhibit
“Lady Bird: Beyond Wildflowers” on Exhibit Until Aug. 23
There is still time to view the temporary exhibit “Lady Bird: Beyond the Wildflowers,” showcasing the life and legacy of former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson. The exhibit, on display at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, tells a broader story of Johnson’s impact on her family, the nation and the world, according to the library’s website. Johnson has often been associated with her interest in conservation and wildflowers. Read more
Sept. 25-28, 2023
Presidential Sites Summit Comes to Washington, D.C.
The White House Historical Association will host the Presidential Sites Summit from Sept. 25 through 28 at the historic Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Sessions include “U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies,” a panel made up of several founding members of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE) to learn more about their new book; and “Entertaining at the White House,” a discussion about the White House as a stage for hospitality and diplomacy with former social secretaries from the Obama, Reagan and George W. Bush administrations lead by moderator Anita McBride, chair of the Presidential Sites Summit Committee.
The summit is designed for site leaders to share the management and outreach of presidential libraries, historic homes, and museums. Read more
September 30, 2023
Gala to Commemorate 10th Anniversary of the George Washington Presidential Library
Tickets are now available for the 10th anniversary of the George Washington Presidential Library. The Regent and Vice Regents of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association will be hosting a benefit gala from 6 to 10 p.m. EDT on Sept. 30 at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, in Mount Vernon, Virginia. The event will include a black-tie dinner on the mansion's east lawn, featuring performances from the American Pops Orchestra, private after-hours tours of the Mansion, a sunset reception overlooking the Potomac River, and dancing. Read more
Nov. 16, 2023
Historian to Give Talking Tour of the Kennedy Restoration of the White House
Historian James Archer Abbott will present an illustrated discussion of the White House as “reimagined and reinterpreted” for President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy from 6 to 7 p.m. CDT on Nov. 16 at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri. The event is free. Abbott is the lead author of “Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration and Its Legacy.” Read more
December 5, 2023
White House History Live: The Washingtons, the Custises, and the Making of America
Learn more about the history of the nation’s “first family” during a White House Historical Association Facebook and YouTube Live event. The program will trace George Washington’s step grandchildren, the Custises, from childhood celebrities to carriers of the Washington legacy in nineteenth century America. Author Cassandra Good will discuss her book, “First Family,” sharing insights on writing the story of this historic family.
The program is part of the White House Live series and explores the stories that make up the history of the executive mansion and can be live streamed on the White House Historical Association's Facebook and YouTube pages starting at 5:30 pm EDT on December 5. Read more
Online Exhibit
Learn About Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 1995 United Nations Address and How it Almost Never Happened
Visitors to the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum can experience an iconic speech given by former First Lady, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton in an online exhibit called “Women’s rights are human rights, once and for all:” The First Lady’s International Rallying Cry from Beijing. Clinton delivered her remarks before representatives from 189 nations at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China. Audience members gave her a “thunderous ovation,” according to the website. View here