FIRST LADY

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'First Lady' is a term applied to the wife of an elected male head of state or head of government.^[1] Development of the title is credited to the United States, where it was first used in 1849, when United States President Zachary Taylor called Dolley Madison, "First Lady" at her state funeral. "Dolley Madison"

Contents

Origination

Variations

Non-political uses

Footnotes

References

See also

Origination

In the early days of the United States republic, there was no generally accepted title for the wife of the President. Many early first ladies expressed their own preference for how they were addressed, including the use of such titles as "Lady," "Mrs. President," "Mrs. Presidentress" and "Queen."^[2] Dolley Madison was referred to as "first lady" in 1849 at her funeral in a eulogy delivered by President Zachary Taylor. However, no written record of this eulogy exists.^[3] The earliest known written evidence of the title is from the November 3, 1863 diary entry of William Howard Russell, in which he referred to "gossip about the First Lady in the Land." The title first gained nationwide recognition in 1877, when Mary C. Ames wrote an article in The Independent describing the inauguration of President Rutherford B. Hayes. She used the term to describe his wife, Lucy Webb Hayes. Mrs. Hayes was a tremendously popular first lady, and the frequent reporting on her activities helped spread use of the term outside Washington.

Variations

The entire family of the head of state may be known familiarly as the "First Family".^[4] Should a female hold the office, the term First Gentleman would be the alternative to First Lady.
The spouse of the second in command (such as a Vice President) may be known as the "Second Lady". Less frequently, the family would be known as the "Second Family".
In some situations, the title is bestowed upon a non-spouse. Park Geun-hye, currently the head of the Grand National Party of Korea, has been referred to as the First Lady to South Korean President Park Chung Hee. Although she is President Park's daughter, the title was bestowed to her after her mother's death.^[5]

Non-political uses

It has become commonplace for the title of "First Lady" to be bestowed on women, as a term of endearment, who have proven themselves to be of exceptional talent, even if that talent is non-political. For example, the term has been applied in the entertainment field to denote the ''First Lady of American Soul'' (Aretha Franklin),^[6] the ''First Lady of the Grand Old Opry'' (Loretta Lynn) and the ''First Lady of the American Stage'' (Helen Hayes).^[7]
The term "first lady" is also used to denote a woman who occupies the foremost social position within a particular locality.^[8]
The term is also used often in the religious setting. The wife of a pastor is usually called "first lady"

Footnotes

1. First Lady
2. http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20010123
3. http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=4 ''Firstladies.org''
4. First Family - Definitions from Dictionary.com
5. Geun Hye Park (2007). The Republic of Korea and the United States: Our Future Together (HTML). Institute for Corean-American Studies, Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
6. Are you ready to think outside the box? The abuses of the English language that readers hated most have inspired a new Telegraph book, explains Richard Preston Richard Preston
7. The Year Of Hoping For Magic Joan Didion
8. Sellers, 294; Russell, 501.

References

★ The City of York in the Sixteenth Century, , Maud, Sellers, The English Historical Review, 1894

★ The South African Republics, , A., Russell, , 1889

See also

★ First Lady of the United States

★ First Lady of the Philippines

★ Spouses of heads of states and governments