And since were chatting about incredible women...say hello to Harriet Lane. Orphaned at an early age, she was taken under the protection of her uncle, a bachelor, James Buchanan, who became the United States President in 1857. Of course, he needed a First Lady in the White House, so he turned to his 27-year-old niece, Harriet. She proved to be the consummate hostess & even used her lofty position to focus on social issues aside from the roiling & swiftly approaching Civil War. Most notably was her focus on improving the living conditions of Native Americans being forced to newly-created reservations. While in the White House, the coquettishly popular Miss Lane flirted with numerous men, yet, she said of them all, [theyre] pleasant, but dreadfully troublesome. The President warned her against rushing precipitately into matrimonial connections, so, Harriet waited until she was almost 36 to marry. She settled on Henry Elliott Johnston, a Baltimore banker, who died years before she did. Even Queen Victoria gave dear Miss Lane the rank of ambassadors wife; while admiring suitors gave her the fame of a beauty. Over the course of her lifetime, Harriet acquired a sizable art collection which she later bequeathed to the Smithsonian. And this generosity earned her the title: First Lady of the National Collection of Fine Arts. Even the United States Coast Guard has had three ships named in her honor. The first vessel, commissioned in 1857 as the USRC Harriet Lane [U.S. Revenue Cutter became the Coast Guard] was transferred to the U.S. Navy & in 1861 fired the first naval shot of the Civil War from her decks. The latest ship, the USCGC Harriet Lane, was commissioned in May,1984 & is STILL in active service today. Harriet even left a sizable contribution to the John Hopkins Hospital to help invalid children; the Harriet Lane Outpatient Clinics still serves thousands of children today. In 1899, Harriet insisted a school building be constructed on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral property: The Lane-Johnston Building, now renamed the St. Albans School. After a most colorful life, Harriet passed away on this day, July 3rd, 1903. Not bad for a stand-in First Lady, wouldnt you say? Another historical tidbit I thought Id just toss yalls way. :-)
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 21:00:42 +0000
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