1. Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnston acted as first lady of the United States during the administration of her uncle, lifelong bachelor president James Buchanan, from 1857 to 1861.
17 Facts About Harriet Lane
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Harriet Lane has been described as the first of the modern first ladies, being a notably charming and diplomatic hostess, whose dress-styles were copied, and who promoted deserving causes.
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Harriet Lane is among 11 women who have served as First Lady, but were not married to the president, with most of the other women being relatives of widowed presidents.
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Harriet Lane was the youngest child of Elliott Tole Lane, a merchant, and Jane Ann Buchanan Lane.
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Harriet Lane lost her mother when she was nine; when her father's death two years later made her an orphan, she requested that her favorite uncle, James Buchanan, be appointed as her legal guardian.
6.
Harriet Lane had eyes that were described as "violet colored".
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Harriet Lane was a popular hostess during the four years of the Buchanan presidency.
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Harriet Lane made a point of inviting artists and musicians to White House functions.
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Harriet Lane's uncle cautioned Lane against "rushing precipitately into matrimonial connections" as his ward found her potential suitors "pleasant but dreadfully troublesome".
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Harriet Lane eventually married Baltimore banker Henry Elliott Johnston at the age of 36.
11.
Harriet Lane wrote her will in 1895 and lived another eight years, during which the country's general prosperity greatly increased the value of her estate.
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Harriet Lane was buried in Green Mount Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland, her grave marked with a Celtic cross like the Peace Cross on the cathedral close.
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Harriet Lane left bequests in her will that established a children's hospital and a boys' school, and she donated her collection of artwork to the Smithsonian.
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Harriet Lane dedicated $400,000 to establish the Harriet Lane Home for Invalid Children at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland as a memorial to two sons who had died in childhood.
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Harriet Lane had an art collection based on European works which she left to the US government.
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The first was the USRC Harriet Lane, commissioned into the United States Revenue Cutter Service in 1857.
17.
The third cutter named for Harriet Lane is the USCGC Harriet Lane.