White House History Profile picture
Jun 12, 2020 8 tweets 4 min read Read on X
#OTD in 1971, Tricia Nixon, daughter of President Richard Nixon and First Lady Patricia Nixon, married longtime boyfriend Edward Cox in the White House Rose Garden.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family Image
As 400 wedding guests entered the Rose Garden, they were greeted by music played by the U.S. Army Strings.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family Image
It was a carefully planned affair. The bridesmaid dresses and décor were coordinated to match the color of the flowers in the garden, and Tricia Nixon’s dress of organdy was covered in embroidery and pearl detail.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family Image
After Nixon and Cox took their vows and sealed their union, the rain began again, and the party quickly moved inside. A fifteen-piece orchestra played music for the couple and their guests in the East Room.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family Image
An impressive spread of food and refreshments awaited the wedding party in the State Dining Room—the star being White House Executive Chef Henry Haller’s lemon wedding cake, a 350-pound masterpiece of six tiers.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family Image
That morning, President Richard Nixon wrote his daughter a letter:

Image Credit: Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family Image
Dear Tricia,

Well, today is the day you begin a long and exciting journey . . . You have made the right choice and I am sure Edward and you will look back on this time and say—‘the day was indeed splendid.’

Love, Daddy

Image Credit: Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family Image
Curious about other weddings at the White House? Then take “A Closer Look” at White House weddings in the #WHExperience mobile app! You’ll learn more about the extravagant cakes and the couples who said “I do” at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: whitehousehistory.org/digital-librar…

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More from @WhiteHouseHstry

Mar 12, 2021
It’s #FirstLadyFriday, and today we’re highlighting the life of First Lady Jane Pierce, born in New Hampshire on this day in 1806.

Image: Library of Congress

1/7
Jane Appleton married Franklin Pierce in 1834, though she was uninterested in politics and the spotlight that came with it.

Image: White House Collection/White House Historical Association

2/7
Their marriage was marked by tragedy, as they had lost two young children before Pierce’s election to the presidency in 1852. Unfortunately, death followed them to the White House.

3/7
Read 7 tweets
Feb 27, 2021
Salvadore Catalano, a Sicilian-born sailor, became an American naval hero as a critical player in a secret mission during the First Barbary War.

A native of Sicily, his composure and knowledge of Tripoli Harbor were essential to the mission.

Image: Library of Congress

1/7
In one of the most courageous actions in American naval history, Catalano piloted the Intrepid for Lieutenant Stephen Decatur’s destruction of the captured USS Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor in 1804.

Image: U.S. Naval Academy Museum Collection/U.S. Navy Photograph

2/7
The mission to destroy the USS Philadelphia was perilous. Pirates (also called Corsairs) on board the Philadelphia hailed Decatur, but it was Catalano who answered, buying time for the Intrepid crew to attach ropes to the Philadelphia to pull the vessels together.

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Feb 26, 2021
This #FirstLadyFriday, we recognize the many women who served as “surrogate” White House hostesses. Typically, first ladies are the wives of presidents, but daughters, nieces, sisters, daughters-in-laws, and friends have stepped into this significant role.

1/6
President Thomas Jefferson, whose wife, Martha, passed away nearly two decades before his inauguration, was the first president to be joined by surrogate hostesses at the White House.

2/6
His daughters, Martha Jefferson Randolph (pictured here) and Maria Jefferson Eppes, welcomed guests to the Executive Mansion, dined with visitors, and managed enslaved and free servants.

Image: Library of Congress

3/6
Read 6 tweets
Feb 25, 2021
After his farewell speech at the entrance to the White House on September 7, 1825, an emotional Marquis de Lafayette embraced President John Quincy Adams, signalling the end of his yearlong triumphant return to the United States.

Image: White House Historical Association

1/5
Originally intended as a four-month tour, the general’s visit stretched into a thirteen-month journey to all twenty-four states, and inspired patriotic celebrations and expressions across a young country during the waning days of the “Era of Good Feelings.”

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President Adams could not allow the general to leave without one last celebration in his honor. Adams celebrated Lafayette’s September 6 birthday with a White House dinner.

Image: White House Collection/White House Historical Association

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Jan 28, 2021
Vice President John Tyler, a former Democrat from Virginia, ascended to the presidency as a member of the Whig Party following the death of President William Henry Harrison in 1841. (1/6)

Image Credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
As president, Tyler vetoed a bill to recharter the Second Bank of the United States, along with several bills proposed by fellow Whigs and sponsored by Henry Clay, a prominent Whig member of the U.S. Senate. (2/6)

Image Credit: Library of Congress
Following his veto, members of his party expelled Tyler from the Whig Party, and every member of Tyler’s cabinet eventually resigned, with the exception of Secretary of State Daniel Webster (pictured here). (3/6)

Image Credit: Library of Congress
Read 6 tweets
Jan 27, 2021
Upon moving into the White House, each president redecorates the Oval Office to make it their own. The president’s desk is perhaps the most important piece of furniture chosen for the room. (1/8)

Image Credit: White House Historical Association Image
Many American presidents have elected to use historical White House desks for their workspace. (2/8)
The Resolute Desk, for example, was a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880, and has been used by many presidents, including John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. (3/8)

Image Credit: WHHA Image
Read 8 tweets

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