Grace Coolidge | |
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![]() Coolidge in 1924 | |
First Lady of the United States | |
In role August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929 | |
President | Calvin Coolidge |
Preceded by | Florence Harding |
Succeeded by | Lou Hoover |
Second Lady of the United States | |
In role March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923 | |
Vice President | Calvin Coolidge |
Preceded by | Lois Marshall |
Succeeded by | Caro Dawes |
First Lady of Massachusetts | |
In role January 2, 1919 – January 6, 1921 | |
Governor | Calvin Coolidge |
Preceded by | Ella McCall |
Succeeded by | Mary Cox |
Second Lady of Massachusetts | |
In role January 6, 1916 – January 2, 1919 | |
Lieutenant Governor | Calvin Coolidge |
Preceded by | Beatrice Barry (1915) |
Succeeded by | Mary Cox |
First Lady of Northampton | |
In role January 3, 1910 – January 1, 1912 | |
Mayor | Calvin Coolidge |
Preceded by | Margaret O'Brien |
Succeeded by | Catherine Feiker |
Personal details | |
Born | Grace Anna Goodhue January 3, 1879 Burlington, Vermont, U.S. |
Died | July 8, 1957 Northampton, Massachusetts, U.S. | (aged 78)
Resting place | Plymouth Notch Cemetery |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | |
Children | 2, including John |
Education | University of Vermont |
Signature | ![]() |
Grace Anna Coolidge (née Goodhue; January 3, 1879 – July 8, 1957) was the wife of the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge. She was the first lady of the United States from 1923 to 1929 and the second lady of the United States from 1921 to 1923. She graduated from the University of Vermont in 1902 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in teaching and joined the Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech in Northampton, Massachusetts, to teach deaf children to communicate by lip reading, rather than by signing.[1] She met Calvin Coolidge in 1904, and the two were married the following year.
As her husband advanced his political career, Coolidge avoided politics. When Calvin Coolidge was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 1919, she remained at home in Northampton with their children. After her husband's election as vice president in 1920, the family moved to Washington, D.C., living at the Willard Hotel. Coolidge did not speak out on political issues of the day, including women's rights. Instead, she dedicated herself to supporting popular causes and organizations, such as the Red Cross and the Visiting Nurse Association. Following the unexpected death of her young teenage son Calvin in 1924 from blood poisoning, she won the sympathy of the country. Unlike previous first ladies, who had withdrawn almost entirely from the public spotlight after personal tragedies, Coolidge resumed her role after a few months.
In 1929, Calvin Coolidge's term as president ended, and the couple retired to Northampton. After her husband's death in 1933, Coolidge continued her work with the deaf and wrote for several magazines. She served on the boards of Mercersburg Academy and the Clarke School. After the start of World War II, Grace joined a local Northampton committee dedicated to helping Jewish refugees from Europe, and loaned her house to WAVES. In 1957, she died of heart disease, and was buried in Plymouth, Vermont, beside her husband and her son.
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