The term First Lady was first used for what president wife?

Answer 1

The term "First Lady" was first coined by President Zachary Taylor in 1849 whil eulogizing Dolly Madison. The first White House occupant to be called "First Lady" was by The Bachelor President James Buchanan referring to his niece Harriet Lane who was actually occupying that position. In the media, Frank Leslie in his Illustrated Monthly in 1860, was first to print , "The Lady of the White House, and by courtesy, the First Lady of the Land." Since Harriet Lane, the term "First Lady" went to all predecessors of her position.

The title was first used in print for Mrs. Rutherford Hayes.

Answer 2

The term "first lady" goes back to President James Buchanan....15th president. He was not married, some say he was gay. He had his niece move into the White House to handle all his "social affairs". The people who worked at the White House didn't know how to address her.....so they coined the phrase "first lady".

Answer 3

This is actually a complicated question, because the term was used sporadically, but did not really come into common use till the late 1800s/early 1900s. One of the earliest uses of the term "first lady" was applied to Martha Washington. In an 1843 newspaper article that appeared in the Boston Courier, the author, "Mrs. Sigourney," discussing how Mrs. Washington had not changed even after her husband George became president, wrote that "The first lady of the nation still preserved the habits of early life. Indulging in no indolence, she left the pillow at dawn, and after breakfast, retired to her chamber for an hour for the study of the scriptures and devotion" ("Martha Washington," Boston Courier, 12 June 1843, p. 4). Interestingly, in her day, Martha Washington was usually called "Lady Washington," as if she were a member of the British royalty.

But it would be another 40-50 years before you would see the term "first lady" used by the press (what we today call the media). Lucy Hayes, wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes, was called by this term in 1877, and gradually more presidential wives were referred to by some version of this title-- First Lady of the Land, First Lady of the Republic, First Lady of the Nation... and eventually, by the time of Eleanor Roosevelt, just as "First Lady."