Barbara Bush was the perfect example of someone who took the platform she had available and turned it into something that would immediately help others. She was more than the wife of the 41st President of the United States of America and she was also one of the most influential women in U.S politics.
She has been called as the ‘’First Lady of Literacy’’ a title that truly suits her, as she loved reading and sharing all she knew about the literacy world with others.
In fact, it has been said that she wanted to make America great again by teaching children and adults to read.
Continue reading and find out more about Barbara Bush and discover these interesting facts
Barbara Bush Interesting Facts
1. Barbara Bush was related to several Presidents of the United States of America
Barbara Bush was born on June 8, 1925, in New York. Her real name though, was Barbara Pierce, up until she married George H.W Bush in 1945.
They had six children together (George, Pauline (who was also called Robin), John (also called Jeb), Neil, Marvin and Dorothy) and of course, George W. Bush followed his father’s footsteps and became the United State’s President in 2001.
This means that Barbara Bush was the wife of a former President of North America while also being the mother of another former President of the United States of North America, an interesting fact about Barbara Bush.
She is the second woman (in all of her country’s history) to have had a husband and a son elected as a President).
In addition to this, she was also a relative of Franklin Pierce, who was the 14th President of the United States.
2. Barbara Bush and George H. Bush were married for 73 years
When Barbara Pierce was 16 she met George H.W Bush at a Christmas dance in Connecticut, just a couple of weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Bush was 17 years old, and a mutual friend introduced them, thinking they would make a great couple.
And you can tell they were madly in love. In fact, Barbara Bush died on April 17th, 2018 and her husband George H.W Bush died on the 30th of November, 2018.
But such a long marriage wasn’t that easy to maintain, especially at the beginning of their relationship when George H.W was deployed to the Pacific in order to fight for the United States during World War II.
3. Barbara Bush lost a child two years after marrying the former President George Bush
In 1949, a couple of months’ after Barbara’s mom was killed in an accident, she gave birth to Pauline Robinson Bush. She was the couple’s first daughter and Barbara was filled with joy, especially after the tragic loss of her own mother.
However, in October 1953, the family lost their child to leukemia when she was only three years old, something that had a profound impact on both Barbara, George and of course, Pauline’s big brother, George W, a sad fact about Barbara Bush.
Pictures from this era show how Barbara’s hair started to turn white as it was a side effect of the grief she had been suffering at the time.
4. The role of Barbara Bush as a First Lady had an impressive impact in the United States of America
Barbara Bush was very vocal when she had to speak in favor of the causes she chose to support, especially when it involved literacy and civil rights.
Even though she sometimes would disagree with her husband’s views, it has been said that she supported him and she often downplayed her own views in order to not damage the support the President hand from their fellow citizens.
The impact Barbara had in the society has been highlighted by many United States’ Presidents and First Ladies, especially since the death of Barbara.
5. Barbara Bush was also the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy
Everybody who knew the former First lady soon realized that she was an avid reader and that she tried to teach her children to read and do some research in order to form their own opinions.
This is why she created the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, an important fact about Barbara Bush. The main role of the organization was to support diverse points across the United States that would be focused on teaching reading skills to both children and adults alike.
6. Barbara Bush was an accomplished writer
She even wrote two books called ‘’Millie’s Book: as Dictated to Barbara Bush’’ and ‘’C.Fred’s Story’’. She donated all of the final proceedings from the sales of these books to the organizations she presided.
She was also the author of the best-selling biography ‘’Barbara Bush: A Memoir and Reflections: Life after the White House’’.
She also kept some personal diaries that have not been published. In fact, she had asked for those diaries to be published 35 years after her death. This means they will be published around 2053.
7. The matriarch of the Bush family died in 2018
Barbara Bush was often considered as the head of the Bush family. She was often portrayed as the matriarch of this important and well-known family. She was often praised as the glue to the family, and she even wrote on her unpublished diaries that she was really grateful for her children, an interesting fact about Barbara Bush.
She died in her house surrounded by her friends and family, but most importantly, next to her husband, the former U.S President.
Conclusion
Barbara Bush is often considered to be one of the most beloved First Ladies that has lived in the White House. She was a genuinely caring person who was known to have a great sense of humor and a deep love for her family.
The love of her life was, of course, her husband, but she also loved her family and friends, and those who supported her throughout the years.
She was very outspoken, especially since her children quit politics, but she was also someone people would listen to and admire.
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