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Martha Washington
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Martha Washington U.S. Pres. George and first lady Martha Washington
Learn about George Washington's hobbies before becoming the first president of the United States of America
First lady Martha Washington Colored lithograph of Martha Washington wearing a lace bonnet and a purple dress, seated outdoors near a porch with greenery in the background. Martha Washington and George Washington and their children
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Washington Monument. Washington Monument and fireworks, Washington DC. The Monument was built as an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington.
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(From left): First Ladies Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford, Pat Nixon, and Lady Bird Johnson at the Dedication of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, California; November 4, 1991. (first lady)
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Martha Washington
Martha Washington First lady Martha Washington, oil on canvas by Rembrandt Peale, c. 1850; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Martha Washington

American first lady
Also known as: Martha Custis, Martha Dandridge
Written by
Betty Boyd Caroli
Betty Boyd Caroli has written extensively about American first ladies. A graduate of Oberlin College, she holds a master's degree in Mass Communications from the Annenberg School of the University of Pennsylvania...
Betty Boyd Caroli
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Martha Washington (born June 2, 1731, New Kent county, Virginia [U.S.]—died May 22, 1802, Mount Vernon, Virginia, U.S.) was an American first lady (1789–97), the wife of George Washington, first president of the United States and commander in chief of the colonial armies during the American Revolutionary War. She set many of the standards and customs for the proper behavior and treatment of the president’s wife. Daughter of farmers John and Frances Jones Dandridge, Martha...

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