White House Christmas tree not ordered one by December 23. Additionally, other presidents never displayed a tree in the White House. First U.S. President George Washington held office at a time when there was no White House, thus it is impossible for him to have displayed a tree there. There is no evidence that Abraham Lincoln ever displayed a Christmas tree in the White House. In 1922 First Lady Florence Harding's illness led to a more subdued Christmas celebration at the White House and no Christmas tree. The official White House Christmas tree has several times been seen as controversial by some. In 1899
Franklin Pierce Rice Franklin Pierce Rice Franklin Pierce Rice (1852–1919) was a self-taught printer and publisher who transcribed and printed and preserved vital records from Massachusetts and was a co-founder of the Worcester Society of Antiquity. Franklin Pierce Rice was born 29 July 1852 in Marlborough, Massachusetts as the only son of Minot Rice and Mary Berry (Felton) Rice. He received his elementary education from his mother, and did not enter public school until he was eleven years old. After completion of his preparatory studies, he intended to enter the medical profession so he began the study of chemistry, anatomy and physiology; however