Antedating of "First Lady"

[Shapiro, Fred]

first lady (OED, 2., 1871)



1870 _Detroit Free Press_ 12 June 6 (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)  In the matter of social etiquette the ladies of Washington have never been able to agree, and the difficulty has now remained unsettled for half a century.  We know who is first lady, and we know who is second lady -- the wives of the President and Vice President have unquestionably these distinctions; but, alas! for the third!  No satisfactory rule has yet been adopted by which we shall be able to determine which of the rival claimants for that honor is entitled to it.



Fred Shapiro

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