This list lists achievements and distinctions of various first ladies of the United States. It includes distinctions achieved in their earlier life and post-first lady service.

There have been forty-two official first ladies and forty-five first ladyships. This discrepancy exists because some presidents remarried while in office and President James Buchanan never married.

Also note that first ladies not recognized by the National First Ladies' Library listing include Martha Jefferson Randolph, Emily Donelson, Sarah Yorke Jackson, Angelica Van Buren, Priscilla Tyler, Mary McElroy, Rose Cleveland, Mary McKee, and Margaret Woodrow Wilson.

Martha Washington

First first lady First first lady to be born in VirginiaMount Vernon Ladies' Association. (2020). "Ten Facts about Martha Washington" Retrieved November 15, 2020. First first lady to have been born in the 18th century First first lady to have had children when she became first lady First first lady to outlive her children First first lady to outlive her husband First first lady to be older than her husband First first lady (and first American woman) to appear on a U.S. postage stampHistorian. May 2020. "Women Subjects on United States Postage Stamps " United States Postal Service. Retrieved January 24, 2021.

Abigail Adams

First first lady to be born in MassachusettsHistory.com editors. (October 27, 2019)."Abigail Adams" Retrieved November 14, 2020. First first lady to serve as Second Lady and First Lady on the same dayThe White House. "Abigail Smith Adams" Retrieved January 10, 2021. First first lady to be younger than her husband First first lady to live in the White House First first lady to have biological children with a husband who was a president First first lady to be the mother of another president (John Quincy Adams)

Martha Jefferson Randolph

First first lady to not be the wife of the president

Dolley Madison

First first lady to be born in North Carolina First first lady to have a parrot as a pet at the White HousePresidential Pet Museum. "James Madison – Dolley’s Parrot" Retrieved January 30, 2021. First first lady given an honorary seat on the floor of Congress First first lady to respond to a telegraph message First first lady to be taller than the president First first lady to be photographed First first lady to be depicted on the cover of a magazine

Louisa Adams

First first lady born outside of the United States (She was born in England.) First first lady to have both houses of the United States Congress adjourn in mourning on the day of her funeral

Sarah Yorke Jackson

First first lady born in Pennsylvania

Anna Harrison

First first lady to be born in New JerseyCaroli, B. (2020). "Anna Harrison" Britannica. Retrieved November 15, 2020. First first lady to be widowed while holding the title First first lady to be granted by law a pension as a president's widow First first lady to be the grandmother of a president

Letitia Tyler

First first lady to die in the White House

Julia Tyler

First first lady to marry a president who was already in office at the time of the wedding

Sarah Polk

Abigail Fillmore

First first lady to hold a job while married (she was a teacher) First first lady to establish a permanent White House libraryJohn Y. Cole "Fillmore’s Foundation" Library of Congress. Retrieved 2 Feb. 2021.

Harriet Lane

Mary Todd Lincoln

First first lady to be born in Kentucky First first lady to hold séances in the White House

Julia Grant

First first lady to be born in MissouriCaroli, B. (2020). "Julia Grant" Britannica. Retrieved November 15, 2020. First first lady recorded on film First first lady to write her memoirs (The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant)

Lucy Hayes

First first lady to be born in OhioThe White House. (n.d.)."Lucy Ware Webb Hayes" Retrieved November 15, 2020. First first lady to earn a college degree First first lady to ban all alcoholic beverages from the White House First first lady to host an Easter Egg roll on the White House lawn

Frances Cleveland

First first lady to marry in the White House First first lady to hold the position of first lady for two nonconsecutive terms First first lady to be pregnant at the White House First first lady to give birth in the White House

Caroline Harrison

First first lady to use electricity First first lady to raise a Christmas tree in the White House First first lady to have written a speech she delivered herself

Edith Roosevelt

First first lady to be born in ConnecticutBritannica. (September 26, 2020). "Edith Roosevelt" Retrieved November 15, 2020. First sitting first lady to travel abroad

Helen Taft

First first lady to own and drive a car First first lady to ride in her husband's inaugural parade First first lady to support women's suffrage First first lady to publish her memoirs First first lady to smoke cigarettes First first lady to successfully lobby for safety standards in federal workplaces First first lady to plant the first cherry tree saplings that are along Washington, D.C.'s Tidal Basin"Prominent Women " Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved November 14, 2020. First first lady to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery First sitting first lady to turn 50

Edith Wilson

First first lady to unofficially assume presidential functions

Florence Harding

First first lady to vote First first lady to fly in an airplane First first lady to operate a movie camera First first lady to own a radio First first lady to invite movie stars to the White House

Grace Coolidge

First first lady to born in VermontCalvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, Inc. "Grace Coolidge Overview" Retrieved November 15, 2020. First first lady to earn a four-year undergraduate degree First first lady to speak in sound newsreels

Lou Hoover

First first lady to be born in IowaThe White House. (n.d.)."Lou Henry Hoover" Retrieved November 15, 2020. First first lady to make regular nationwide radio broadcasts

Eleanor Roosevelt

First first lady to hold regular press conferences First first lady to write a daily newspaper column and to write a monthly magazine column First first lady to host a weekly radio show First first lady to fly in an airplane while first lady; she flew with Amelia Earhart in April 1933.Nelson, Brooke (December 18, 2020). "45 Facts You Never Knew About America's First Ladies"Reader's Digest. Retrieved December 31, 2020. First first lady to speak at a national party convention (1940)Goodwin, Doris Kearns (1994). No Ordinary Time. p. 10, 133. Simon & Schuster. . First first lady to be depicted as part of a presidential memorial (the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial) First first lady (and only) to serve in the role for 12 years (1933–1945)The White House. "Anna Eleanor Roosevelt" Retrieved 2 January 2021.

Bess Truman

First first lady to live over the age of 90 (Bess Truman lived for .)

Mamie Eisenhower

First first lady to initiate Halloween decorations to be put up in the White House

Jacqueline Kennedy

First first lady to hire a press secretary First first lady to hire a White House curator First first lady to win an Emmy Award First first lady to be born in a hospital First first lady to select a theme for the White House Christmas tree"Jacqueline Kennedy Refines the Season", White House Historical Association, accessed February 25, 2023.

Lady Bird Johnson

First first lady to be born in TexasThe White House. (n.d.)."Claudia Alta Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson" Retrieved November 15, 2020.

Pat Nixon

First first lady to be born in NevadaThe White House. (n.d.)."Patricia Ryan Nixon" Retrieved November 15, 2020. First first lady to enter a combat zone First first lady to travel to Africa,Anthony, Carl Sferrazza (1991). First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents' Wives and Their Power; 1961–1990 (Volume II). New York: William Morrow and Co., p. 196 the People's Republic of China, and the Soviet Union First first lady to model trousers in a national magazine First first lady to address a Republican National Convention (in 1972)

Betty Ford

First first lady to be born in IllinoisThe White House. "Elizabeth Anne Bloomer Ford" Retrieved January 10, 2021. First first lady to have a successful battle against dependency on drugs and alcohol, and openly talk about it

Rosalynn Carter

First first lady to keep her own office in the East Wing First first lady to have a VCR in the White House First first lady to have been married for over 75 years (Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter were married for .)

Nancy Reagan

First first lady to be legally adopted by her mother's second husband First first lady invited to address the United Nations General Assembly First first lady married to a divorcé First first lady to attend a British royal wedding First sitting first lady to attend an Olympic Games (the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles)

Barbara Bush

First first lady to live to see a son become president First first lady to have lived at both Number One Observatory Circle and the White House First first lady to hire an African-American as her press secretary First first lady to throw out a ball to open the baseball season First first lady to write a memoir from her dog's perspective First first lady to give a live nationally broadcast speech First first lady to have been married for over 70 years (Barbara and George H. W. Bush were married for .)

Hillary Clinton

First first lady to earn a postgraduate degree Clinton had the first postgraduate degree through regular study and scholarly work. Eleanor Roosevelt had been previously awarded a postgraduate honorary degree. Clinton's successor Laura Bush became the second First Lady with a postgraduate degree. First first lady to have her own professional career up to the time of entering the White House First first lady to wear trousers in an official first lady portrait First first lady with an office in the West Wing First first lady to win a Grammy Award First first lady to be subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury First first lady to run for and to win elected office (for senator from New York in 2000) First first lady to march in an LGBT pride parade (2000) First first lady to run for president (election in 2008) First first lady to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party (specifically, the Democratic Party, in 2016)Alan Rappeport, Yamiche Alcindor & Jonathan Martin, Democrats Nominate Hillary Clinton Despite Sharp Divisions, New York Times (July 26, 2016). First first lady to serve as Chancellor at Queen's University Belfast (began 5-year term in January 2020)Moriarty, Gerry. "Hillary Clinton appointed chancellor of Queen's University Belfast". The Irish Times. Retrieved January 2, 2020.Meredith, Robbie (January 2, 2020). "Hillary Clinton appointed chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast". BBC News. Retrieved January 21, 2020. First first lady to be an electoral college elector (election in 2020)

Laura Bush

First first lady to give birth to twins First first lady to substitute for the president in the president's weekly radio address First sitting first lady to have a mother-in-law who was also a first lady

Michelle Obama

First African American first lady First first lady to attend an Ivy League university for her undergraduate degree (She majored in sociology and minored in African-American studies at Princeton University.) First first lady to announce the winner of an Oscar (Best Picture which went to Argo) First first lady to host the Girl Scouts campout at the White HouseJulian Hughes. July 1, 2015. "Obamas host first ever campout for Girl Scouts at the White House" CBS News. Retrieved January 9, 2021.

Melania Trump