Harriet Lane

 

Harriet Lane

Harriet Lane

Harriet Lane became Acting First Lady upon her Uncle becoming President, that uncle was James Buchanan. She was considered the first modern First Lady to the White House due to her charming personality and diplomacy as a hostess. She was a stylish young woman whose clothes were the height of fashion and who enjoyed philanthropic work with deserving causes. Modern historians have compared her to Jackie Kennedy in inspirational style and grace in her popularity and improving both art and social issues of her time. 

When Ms. Lane died, she donated her substantial art collection to the Smithsonian and also donated a large sum of money to the Johns Hopkins Hospital for the research and development of helping children who were considered invalid children, such as glandular disorders, autism, dwarfism, pediatric issues in memory of her two sons who died in childhood. If you visit the Washington Cathedral in Washington, DC, you will notice a building called the Lane-Johnson Choir School for Boys which is named after her due to her donation upon her death. She has had the honor of being the namesake to several naval and coast guard vessels and one Coast Guard Vessel is still in use today.

Harriet Lane-Johnson died in 1903 at the age of 73 of cancer. Although she died in  Narragansett, Rhode Island, she is buried in the Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland.

 

Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of experience in writing with 12 of those years in the online content sphere. Graduating with an Associate of Arts from Pheonix University kin Business Management, then a degree in Mass Communication and Cyber Analysis from Phoenix University, then on to Walden University for her master’s in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology, her work portfolio includes coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. In her spare time, Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, pen and ink, Gouache, and pastels. As a political operative having worked on over 300 campaigns during her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 6 blogs that range from art to life coaching, to food, to writing, and opinion or history pieces each week.