First Lady of the United States and provided elite women with opportunities to play backstage political roles. Both Martha Washington and Abigail Adams were treated as if they were "ladies" of the British royal court. Dolley Madison popularized the First Ladyship by engaging in efforts to assist orphans and women, by dressing in elegant fashions and attracting newspaper coverage, and by risking her life to save iconic treasures during the War of 1812. Madison set the standard for the ladyship and her actions were the model for nearly every First Lady until Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1930s. She traveled widely and spoke to many groups, often
First Lady of the United States choices: style writer Robin Givhan praised her in "The Daily Beast", arguing that the First Lady's style has helped to enhance the public image of the office. , there are four living former First Ladies, as identified below. The most recent First Lady to die was Barbara Bush (served 1989–1993), on April 17, 2018, at the age of 92. The greatest number of former First Ladies to be alive at one time was ten, during the period from June 2, 1886 to August 23, 1887, when Sarah Yorke Jackson, Priscilla Cooper Tyler, Julia Gardiner Tyler, Sarah Childress Polk, Harriet Lane,