List of First Ladies of the United States by longevity

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At 97 years, 247 days,Bess Truman is the longest-lived First Lady to date.
At 97 years, 247 days,
Bess Truman is the longest-lived First Lady to date.
Lady Bird Johnson is the oldest living First Lady.
Lady Bird Johnson is the oldest living First Lady.
Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt's first wife, lived to be only 22 years, 200 days old.  She died the same day as Roosevelt's mother.
Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt's first wife, lived to be only 22 years, 200 days old. She died the same day as Roosevelt's mother.
Letitia Tyler died at 51 years, 302 days old, making her the youngest woman to have served as First Lady to die.
Letitia Tyler died at 51 years, 302 days old, making her the youngest woman to have served as First Lady to die.

This is a list of First Ladies of the United States by longevity, followed by a list of women who were married to Presidents but never became First Ladies. Where the person in question is still living, the longevity is calculated up to March 24, 2007.[1]

To allow for the differing number of leap days occurring within the life of each First Lady or wife, two measures of longevity are given. The first column is the number of days between date of birth and date of death, allowing for leap days; the second column breaks this number down into years and days, with the years being the number of whole years the First Lady or wife lived, and the days being the remaining number of days after her last birthday.

If Lady Bird Johnson is alive on August 26, 2010, she will become the longest lived First Lady.

Name Date of birth Date of death Longevity
days yrs days
1 Bess Truman February 13, 1885 October 18, 1982 35,675 97y 247d
2 Lady Bird Johnson December 22, 1912 34,424 94y 91d [2]
3 Edith Bolling Wilson[3] October 15, 1872 December 28, 1961 32,580 89y 74d
4 Betty Ford April 8, 1918 32,491 88y 349d [2]
5 Anna Harrison July 25, 1775 February 25, 1864 32,356 88y 215d
6 Sarah Childress Polk September 4, 1803 August 14, 1891 32,121 87y 344d
7 Edith Roosevelt August 6, 1861 September 30, 1948 31,831 87y 55d
8 Lucretia Garfield April 19, 1832 March 14, 1918 31,374 85y 329d
9 Nancy Reagan July 6, 1921 31,306 85y 260d [2]
10 Frances Cleveland[3] July 21, 1864 October 29, 1947 30,414 83y 100d
11 Mamie Eisenhower November 14, 1896 November 1, 1979 30,301 82y 352d
12 Helen Taft June 2, 1861 May 22, 1943 29,938 81y 354d
13 Barbara Bush June 8, 1925 29,873 81y 288d [2]
14 Pat Nixon March 16, 1912 June 22, 1993 29,683 81y 108d
15 Dolley Madison May 20, 1768 July 12, 1849 29,637 81y 53d
16 Rosalynn Carter August 18, 1927 29,072 79y 217d [2]
17 Grace Coolidge January 3, 1879 July 8, 1957 28,675 78y 186d
18 Eleanor Roosevelt October 11, 1884 November 7, 1962 28,515 78y 27d
19 Louisa Adams February 12, 1775 May 15, 1852 28,216 77y 93d
20 Julia Grant January 26, 1826 December 14, 1902 28,080 76y 322d
21 Abigail Adams November 11, 1744 October 28, 1818 27,002 73y 340d
22 Martha Washington June 21, 1731 May 22, 1802 25,891 70y 324d
23 Lou Henry Hoover March 29, 1874 January 7, 1944 25,485 69y 284d
24 Julia Gardiner Tyler[3] July 23, 1820 July 10, 1889 25,189 68y 352d
25 Eliza McCardle Johnson October 4, 1810 January 15, 1876 23,844 65y 103d
26 Jacqueline Kennedy July 28, 1929 May 19, 1994 23,761 64y 295d
27 Florence Harding August 15, 1860 November 21, 1924 23,473 64y 98d
28 Margaret Taylor September 21, 1788 August 14, 1852 23,337 63y 328d
29 Mary Todd Lincoln December 13, 1818 July 16, 1882 23,226 63y 215d
30 Elizabeth Monroe June 30, 1768 September 23, 1830 22,729 62y 85d
31 Laura Bush November 4, 1946 22,024 60y 139d [2]
32 Caroline Harrison[4] October 1, 1832 October 25, 1892 21,939 60y 24d
33 Ida McKinley June 8, 1847 May 26, 1907 21,901 59y 352d
34 Hillary Clinton October 26, 1947 21,698 59y 148d [2]
35 Lucy Webb Hayes August 28, 1831 June 25, 1889 21,121 57y 301d
36 Jane Pierce March 12, 1806 December 2, 1863 21,084 57y 265d
37 Abigail Fillmore March 13, 1798 March 30, 1853 20,105 55y 17d
38 Ellen Louise Wilson[4] May 15, 1860 August 6, 1914 19,805 54y 83d
39 Letitia Christian Tyler[4] November 12, 1790 September 10, 1842 18,929 51y 302d

Name Date of birth Date of death Longevity Reason
days yrs days
1 Jane Wyman January 4, 1914[5] 34,046 93y 78d [2] Divorced before her husband became President.
2 Mary Dimmick Harrison April 30, 1858 January 5, 1948 32,756 89y 250d Married her husband after he was President.
3 Caroline Fillmore October 21, 1813 August 11, 1881 24,766 67y 294d
"
4 Rachel Jackson June 15, 1767 December 22, 1828 22,470 61y 190d Died before her husband became President.
5 Ellen Lewis Arthur August 30, 1837 January 12, 1880 15,475 42y 135d
"
6 Hannah Van Buren March 8, 1783 February 5, 1819 13,117 35y 334d
"
7 Martha Jefferson October 19, 1748 September 6, 1782 12,364 33y 311d
"
8 Alice Roosevelt July 29, 1861 February 14, 1884 8,235 22y 200d
"


First Ladies who died while their husband was U.S. President

Most former First Ladies who died during a single Presidential administration

Presidential couples who died during a single administration or term

  1. ^ It is anticipated that this article be updated on the first day of each month.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h To March 24, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c Married her husband while he was President.
  4. ^ a b c Died while her husband was President.
  5. ^ Jane Wyman's actual birth year is disputed. It is often given as 1917.
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