Presidents and First Ladies Trivia

[L Verge]

(01-29-2017 03:51 PM)Anita Wrote:  

(01-29-2017 01:58 PM)L Verge Wrote:  In commemoration of Women's History Month in March, Surratt House will feature a program on the subject of various women's health issues in the 1800s (and into the 20th century) that would have sent them "To The Madhouse!" (that's the title of the lecture). Many women who suffered from a variety of illnesses that are routinely treated today were sent off to insane asylums to live out their years. This was especially true in families that did not have the wealth to quietly sequester them in an upstairs room of their house.

Should be a great program. Will there be an article in the "The Surratt Courier" on this subject?
Were men with the same illnesses sent to madhouses? Do you have stats on the numbers of men vs women in mental institutions during the 1800s?

I had not approached the speaker about such an article, but will certainly do so. Otherwise, I will try to take fast and furious notes!

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Here's another trivia question based on First Ladies:

Which outgoing First Lady caught pneumonia during a long-winded inaugural speech by the incoming President and died a week later?

Got this one from a new book that I finally decided to read. If any of you are familiar with the Sarah Vowell book of at least a decade ago - Assassination Vacation - this one is even better, IMO. At times, Sarah got a little too snarky for my tastes.

This new book is entitled Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of our Nation's Leaders. It is written in a casual, but well-researched style. Easy reading and learning new history and new anecdotes is more my cup of tea as my aging brain goes on overload in this computer age. I'm going to convince my gift shop manager to carry this. Hopefully we can get a decent discount from those money-hungry publishers that are out there now...

P.S. to Rich Smyth: The author of this, Brady Carlson, reminded me of you in his cemetery adventures.