Born: 1872
Died: 1961
Edith Bolling grew up in a small Virginia town where her father settled after losing his plantation in the Civil War. Starting over as a rural lawyer and judge, he barely managed to support his 11 children. With money scarce, Edith received little formal education but she was a quick study and learned from those around her. At 18, she met Washington jeweler Norman Galt while on a visit to her sister. She married him at 24 and bore their only child who lived just days. A widow at 36, Edith's inheritance allowed her to continue a sophisticated lifestyle complete with trips to Europe and haute couture. She was visiting the White House at age 43 when she met the recently-widowed President, 58-year-old Woodrow Wilson. Sparks flew and the couple wed in 1915.
As First Lady, Edith was her husband's biggest booster and a plucky role model for a nation at war. She led conservation drives, raised funds, and volunteered for the Red Cross. Behind the scenes, she learned the Allies' secret code and deciphered dispatches from the front. Edith accompanied Woodrow to the Paris Peace Conference, and after his crippling stroke in 1919, she rigidly controlled access to his sick room. Determined to protect his fragile health, she picked which matters to present to him when. After leaving the White House in 1921, Edith and Woodrow had three more years together. She survived him by 37 years.
Twenty-Eighth President
Woodrow Wilson
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