Writers in White House
The atlas holds 31 people and 86 moments here, from 1789 to 2009. The most recorded lives are John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Abraham Lincoln.
Notable people
John F. Kennedy
from 1941 to 1963
10 moments here
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was an American naval officer, journalist, congressman, senator, and the 35th president of the United States.…
Dwight D. Eisenhower
from 1927 to 1969
10 moments here
Dwight D. Eisenhower was a United States Army officer, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II, and the 34th president of the United…
Abraham Lincoln
from 1848 to 1865
8 moments here
American lawyer, Illinois legislator, congressman, and sixteenth president of the United States.…
Ronald Reagan
from 1981 to 1994
6 moments here
American broadcaster, actor, labor leader, governor of California, and 40th president of the United States.…
Martin Luther King Jr.
from 1957 to 1964
6 moments here
American Baptist minister and civil-rights leader who advanced racial equality through nonviolent protest.…
Harry S. Truman
from 1935 to 1952
4 moments here
Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953.…
James Madison
from 1801 to 1814
4 moments here
James Madison (1751–1836) was a Virginia planter, revolutionary politician, delegate to the Continental and Confederation congresses, architect of…
Helen Keller
from 1886 to 1961
4 moments here
Helen Adams Keller was an American deafblind author, lecturer, disability-rights advocate, and political activist.…
Nelson Mandela
from 1990 to 1998
3 moments here
South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, lawyer and statesman. Mandela helped lead the African National Congress, co-founded its armed wing,…
Charles Dickens
from 1842 to 1868
3 moments here
English novelist, journalist, editor, social reformer, actor and celebrated public reader. This chronology traces documented residences, workplaces,…
Jimmy Carter
from 1974 to 1979
3 moments here
James Earl Carter Jr. was an American naval officer, Georgia state senator and governor, the 39th president of the United States, and a…
John Adams
from 1800 to 1801
3 moments here
American lawyer, revolutionary leader, diplomat, first vice president of the United States, and second U.S. president.…
Mark Twain
from 1867 to 1906
2 moments here
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known as Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, journalist, lecturer, riverboat pilot, and traveler.…
Stephen Hawking
from 2008 to 2009
2 moments here
English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author whose work on singularities, black-hole thermodynamics, and Hawking radiation reshaped modern…
Robin Williams
from 1998 to 2008
2 moments here
Robin McLaurin Williams was an American actor and comedian, born in Chicago and raised in Illinois, Michigan, and California.…
Albert Einstein
in 1921
1 moment here
German-born theoretical physicist who transformed modern physics through special and general relativity, foundational work on quantum theory, and…
George Washington
in 1789
1 moment here
George Washington was a Virginia surveyor, planter, military commander, revolutionary leader, constitutional statesman, and the first president of…
Thomas Edison
in 1878
1 moment here
American inventor and industrialist whose laboratories developed and commercialized technologies in telegraphy, recorded sound, electric lighting and…
Thomas Jefferson
in 1801
1 moment here
Thomas Jefferson was an American lawyer, Virginia political leader, diplomat, secretary of state, vice president, and third president of the United…
Pope John Paul II
in 1979
1 moment here
Karol Józef Wojtyła (1920–2005), Pope John Paul II from 1978, was a Polish Catholic priest, bishop, cardinal, and pope.…
Fidel Castro
in 1959
1 moment here
Cuban revolutionary and political leader who led the 26th of July Movement against Fulgencio Batista, became Cuba's prime minister in 1959, and later…
Gabriel García Márquez
in 1987
1 moment here
Colombian novelist, journalist, screenwriter, and Nobel laureate whose life moved between Colombia, Europe, Cuba, the United States, Mexico, and…
Henry Ford
in 1915
1 moment here
American industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company. Ford grew up in rural Michigan, worked in Detroit engineering and machine shops, developed…
Jean-Paul Sartre
in 1945
1 moment here
French philosopher, writer, and political activist associated with existentialism. His documented movements include education and teaching across…
Moments
- 1789 Received in Alexandria George Washington
- 1800 First official visit to Washington John Adams
- 1800 Moved into the White House John Adams
- 1801 Left the White House at end of presidency John Adams
- 1801 First presidential inauguration Thomas Jefferson
- 1801 Secretary of State in Washington James Madison
- 1809 Presidential inauguration James Madison
- 1814 Flight from Washington after Bladensburg James Madison
- 1814 Return to burned Washington James Madison
- 1842 Calls on President Tyler Charles Dickens
- 1848 Spoke in the U.S. House Abraham Lincoln
- 1861 Arrived in Washington as president-elect Abraham Lincoln
- 1861 Called at the White House Abraham Lincoln
- 1861 First presidential inauguration Abraham Lincoln
- 1865 Second presidential inauguration Abraham Lincoln
- 1865 Attended Our American Cousin Abraham Lincoln
- 1865 Carried to Petersen House Abraham Lincoln
- 1865 Died at Petersen House Abraham Lincoln
- 1867 Works briefly in Washington Mark Twain
- 1868 Meets President Andrew Johnson Charles Dickens
- 1868 Reads before the president Charles Dickens
- 1878 Demonstrates phonograph in Washington Thomas Edison
- 1886 Visit to Washington after Baltimore consultation Helen Keller
- 1893 Visit to Washington during Cleveland inauguration Helen Keller
- 1901 Dinner with Booker T. Washington Theodore Roosevelt
- 1906 Testifies before Congress on copyright Mark Twain
- 1915 Peace-mission meeting at the White House Henry Ford
- 1921 Visits the White House Albert Einstein
- 1925 AFB address in Washington Helen Keller
- 1927 American Battle Monuments Commission work Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1927 Army War College studies Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1929 Executive officer to the Assistant Secretary of War Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1935 Washington home during Senate years Harry S. Truman
- 1938 Guest of the Pan American Union in Washington Gabriela Mistral
- 1941 Joined Naval Intelligence in Washington John F. Kennedy
- 1941 War Plans Division service Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1945 Visit to General Marshall at the Pentagon Jean-Paul Sartre
- 1945 Sworn in as president Harry S. Truman
- 1945 Return to Washington as Army Chief of Staff Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1946 Residence at Fort Myer Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1946 Moved to Washington as congressman-elect John F. Kennedy
- 1947 Lived in Georgetown during House service John F. Kennedy
- 1949 First visit to the United States Jawaharlal Nehru
- 1950 Blair House Korean War meeting Harry S. Truman
- 1952 Return to the renovated White House Harry S. Truman
- 1953 First presidential inauguration Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1954 Churchill conference in Washington Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1955 Settled at Hickory Hill John F. Kennedy
- 1957 Delivers “Give Us the Ballot” Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1958 Returned to Georgetown John F. Kennedy