Edith Roosevelt (1861-1948) was an American first lady (1901-09) and the second wife of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States. Childhood sweehearts, the two were separated for a number of years before resuming their romance and marrying, two years after the tragic death of Theodore's first wife, Alice. In 1901, the Roosevelts entered the White House, which Edith and Theodore quickly realized could not accomodate their large and boisterous young family. They secured permission and funding from Congress to extensively remodel the building, including construction of the new West Wing, which separated the private family quarters from the presidential offices for the first time.
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This Day in History
May 22
Presidential
Martha Washington dies, 1802
President George Washington's devoted widow and the nation's first first lady, Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, dies at her Mt. Vernon home on this day…
Did You Know?
The expansion and renovation of the White House carried out by Edith and Theodore Roosevelt cost nearly $475,000, the equivalent of more than $10.5 million today.
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