Elizabeth Virginia Wallace Truman

Born	February 13, 1885 Independence, Missouri
Died	October 18, 1982 (aged 97) Independence, Missouri
Occupation	First Lady of the United States
Predecessor	Eleanor Roosevelt
Successor	Mamie Eisenhower
Spouse	Harry S. Truman
Children	Margaret
Parents	David Wallace and Madge Gates

Elizabeth Virginia Wallace Truman (February 13, 1885 – October 18, 1982), often known as "Bess Truman", was the wife of Harry S Truman and First Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (512x640, 32 KB) Summary First Lady Bess Truman Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Martha Washington, Original First Lady of the United States. ... Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (October 11, 1884 – November 7, 1962) was an American political leader who used her stature as First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945 to promote her husbands (Franklin D. Roosevelts) New Deal, as well as Civil Rights. ... Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower (November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979), was the wife of General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961. ... Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884–December 26, 1972) was the thirty-third President of the United States (1945–1953); as Vice President, he succeeded to the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. ... Margaret Truman on cover of February 26, 1951, issue of Time Magazine Mary Margaret Truman Daniel (born February 17, 1924 in Independence, Missouri) is an American writer and the author of biographies, books on the White House and several best-selling mystery novels. ... February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the victim of Mt. ... Martha Washington, Original First Lady of the United States. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Early life

She was born to Margaret ("Madge") Gates and David Wallace on February 13, 1885, in Independence, Missouri. Christened Elizabeth Virginia, she grew up as "Bessie." Harry Truman, whose family moved to town in 1890, always kept his first impression of her -- "golden curls" and "the most beautiful blue eyes." A relative said, "there never was but one girl in the world" for him. They attended the same schools from fifth grade through high school. February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Independence is a city in Missouri, in the Kansas City metropolitan area. ...

After graduating from William Chrisman High School (then known as Independence High School), she studied Miss Barstow's Finishing School for Girls in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1903, her father died, and she returned to Independence to be with her mother. William Chrisman High School is a High School in Independence, Missouri. ... The Barstow School (commonly known simply as Barstow), founded in 1884[1] by Miss Mary Louise Barstow, is a nonsectarian, coeducational, private preparatory school located on State Line Road in suburban southern Kansas City, Missouri, USA. The Barstow School enrolls approximately 650 students in preschool through 12th grade. ... Nickname: City of Fountains or Heart of America Location in Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass Counties in the state of Missouri. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

Marriage and family

World War I altered a deliberate courtship for the Trumans. Lieutenant Truman proposed and they became engaged before he left for the battlefields of France in 1918. They were married on June 28, 1919; they lived in Mrs. Wallace's home, two stillborn children were born before daughter Mary Margaret was born in 1924 after several miscarriages. Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul... June 28 is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 186 days remaining. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Margaret Truman on cover of February 26, 1951, issue of Time Magazine Mary Margaret Truman Daniel (born February 17, 1924 in Independence, Missouri) is an American writer and the author of biographies, books on the White House and several best-selling mystery novels. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Miscarriage is the lay term for the natural or accidental termination of a pregnancy at a stage where the fetus is incapable of surviving. ...

When Harry Truman became active in politics, Mrs. Truman traveled with him and shared his platform appearances as the public had come to expect a candidate's wife to do. His election to the Senate in 1934 took the family to Washington, DC. He was elected Vice President in 1944. Upon F.D.R.'s death on April 12, 1945, Harry Truman took the presidential oath of office--and she managed to look on with composure and was now the new First Lady. Seal of the U.S. Senate The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral United States Congress, the other being the House of Representatives. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ...

First Lady of the United States

White House portrait, painted by Greta Kempton.

Mrs Truman found the White House's lack of privacy distasteful. As her husband put it later, she was "not especially interested" in the "formalities and pomp or the artificiality which, as we had learned..., inevitably surround the family of the President." Though she conscientiously fulfilled the social obligations of her position, she did only what was necessary. While the mansion was rebuilt during the second term, the Trumans lived in Blair House and kept social life to a minimum. In most years of her husband's presidency, Mrs Truman was not present in Washington except for the social season when her presence was needed. public domain image from whitehouse. ... Greta Kempton Greta Kempton (March 22, 1901 - December 10, 1991) born Martha Greta Kempton in Vienna, Austria. ... North façade of the White House, seen from Pennsylvania Avenue. ... Blair House is a guest house for state visitors to Washington, D.C. (in the United States of America). ... The Season or social season is that portion of the year when the members of polite society of a city can be expected to be resident in town (as opposed to the country), and when debutante balls, dinner parties, and charity galas are held. ...

The comparison to Mrs Truman's predecessor, Eleanor Roosevelt, was marked. Unlike Mrs Roosevelt, Mrs Truman held only one press conference after many requests from the mostly female press corps assigned to her. The press conference consisted of written questions in advance of which the replies (also on paper) were mostly monosyllabic accompanied by many "no comments". Her responses to whether she wanted her daughter, Margaret, to become President was "most definitely not". Her reply to what she wanted to do after her husband left office was "return to Independence", although she had briefly entertained the thought of living in Washington after 1953. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (October 11, 1884 – November 7, 1962) was an American political leader who used her stature as First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945 to promote her husbands (Franklin D. Roosevelts) New Deal, as well as Civil Rights. ...

Later life

The Trumans did indeed return to Independence in 1953, resuming their residence in the family home at 219 North Delaware Street while the former president worked on building his library and writing his memoirs. After a 1959 mastectomy, Mrs. Truman thought she was about to die considering that as Mr. Truman stated "she had a tumour the size of a basketball" although it was benign. Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In medicine, mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. ... Tumor (American English) or tumour (British English) originally means swelling, and is sometimes still used with that meaning. ... Sara Giauro shoots a three-point shot, FIBA Europe Cup for Women Finals 2005. ... Benign can refer to any medical condition which, untreated or with symptomatic therapy, will not become life-threatening. ...

After her husband's death in 1972, Mrs. Truman continued to live quietly, enjoying visits from Margaret and her husband, Clifton Daniel, and their four sons. She agreed to be the honorary chairman for the reelection campaign of Sen. Thomas Eagleton (D-Missouri). Thomas Eagleton Thomas Francis Eagleton, LL.B., (born September 4, 1929) is a former United States Senator from Missouri. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

She died in 1982 from congestive heart failure and was buried beside her husband in the courtyard of the Harry S. Truman Library. At the time of her death at the age of 97 years, she was the longest lived First Lady of the United States, a record that still stands. In fact, no President has yet exceeded her 97 years with the nearest to reach that age being Gerald Ford, who is currently 93 years old. The only Presidential relative to live longer than Bess Truman was Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy who died at 104 in 1995. As of 2006, at age 94 years, Lady Bird Johnson is the oldest surviving First Lady of the United States. Congestive heart failure (CHF), also called congestive cardiac failure (CCF) or just heart failure, is a condition that can result from any structural or functional cardiac disorder that impairs the ability of the heart to fill with or pump a sufficient amount of blood throughout the body. ... The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum is a library and museum dedicated to preserve the papers, books, and other historical materials relating to former President Harry S. Truman. ... The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. ... Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy (July 22, 1890 – January 22, 1995) married into the Kennedy family and became its matriarch in the second half of the 20th century, when its members helped shape American politics. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Claudia Alta Taylor Lady Bird Johnson (born December 22, 1912) is the widow of Lyndon B. Johnson and was First Lady of the United States from 1963-1969. ...

References

• Original text based on White House biography