As a historian, I am always interested in significant dates — and we are now a century removed from the death of Florence Harding (Nov. 21, 1924), as well as 15 years from the publication of my biography about her (2009). She lives on, however, as a wax mannequin in my office, should you like to visit!
So, who was Florence Harding? She and her husband, Warren Harding, entered the White House as the 29th first lady and president of the U.S. in 1921, running on a “return to normalcy” ticket following World War I. But the Hardings were hardly “normal.” Florence was the first first lady to vote for her husband in 1920 following the ratification of the 19th amendment and encouraged other women to vote. She pursued causes such as helping veterans, spurring the creation of a women’s prison and supporting animal welfare — indeed, she made the cracks in the mold that Eleanor Roosevelt broke! She also used the new cultural medium of Hollywood to showcase the White House, seeking out photo-ops as she and Warren became celebrities, before she grew deathly ill with nephritis, a chronic kidney ailment. She invited the public to pray for her recovery (which they did), but the disease eventually killed her following Warren’s death on a trip to Alaska.
Florence’s life also affected me personally. I was once a historian of Soviet-American relations and espionage during World War II, fascinated with Russian spies and FBI investigations, and arrived at St. Joe’s to teach and publish in that field. But I have since turned into a different kind of scholar — focused on the history of first ladies, their roles and their influence on American politics. That would never have happened without my teaching of women’s history here, starting 30 years ago in 1994 when no one was teaching it, least of all me! But I learned about it alongside my students, and for that reason, among so many others, I continue to be so grateful for teaching here, where my classes allow me to develop new passions in history.
Katherine A. S. Sibley, Ph.D., is a professor of history and the Dirk Warren ’50 Sesquicentennial Chair in Social and Health Sciences.
