Edith Wilson (née Bolling, formerly Galt; October 15, 1872 – December 28, 1961) was the first lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 and the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She married the widower Wilson in December 1915, during his first term as president.

Jun 12, 2020 · That happy occasion gave no clue that, in just three short years, Edith Bolling Galt — the widow of a Washington, D.C. jewelry store owner marrying the widowed incumbent President of the...

Jul 24, 2024 · Edith Bolling Galt Wilson married President Woodrow Wilson on December 18, 1915, shortly before he began serving his second term in the White House. When the president suffered a debilitating stroke late in 1919, Edith Wilson assumed what she called the “stewardship of the presidency,” a constitutionally unprecedented role that led her to ...

Unless you're an American history buff or student of American Presidential history, you may never have heard the name Edith Bolling Galt Wilson. But for all intents and purposes, she served as the first de facto female President of the United States, from October 1919 to March 1921.

Jan 27, 2025 · In 1896 Edith married Norman Galt, a relative of her brother-in-law, whose family owned a prestigious jewelry store just steps from the White House. One son, born in 1903, died in infancy, and Galt died in 1908, leaving his widow very wealthy.

The president wasted no time introducing himself to Edith Bolling Galt, a 42-year-old widow. Edith lived most of her life either within or near the American capital, rarely bothering to...

Dec 16, 2009 · Edith met Norman Galt, a partner in a prominent Washington, D.C., silver and jewelry store, through her sister’s marriage into the Galt family. After a lengthy courtship of more than four years...

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson was second wife of the 28th President, Woodrow Wilson. She served as First Lady from 1915 to 1921. After the President suffered a severe stroke, she pre-screened all matters of state, functionally running the Executive branch of government for the remainder of Wilson’s second term.

Edith was the first ‘first lady’ to receive permanent Secret Service protection because of Congress’s decision in 1917 to authorize permanent protection to the president’s immediate family.

At the age of 24, Edith married a wealthy Washington, D.C. jeweler named Norman Galt. Galt died in 1908 but Edith maintained ownership of her husband’s business and established her place among the capital’s social elite.