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Elizabeth Anne Ford was First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of President Gerald Ford. As first lady, she was active in social policy, and set a precedent as a politically active presidential spouse. She was also Second Lady of the United States from 1973 to 1974, when her husband was vice president.
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culture · First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977 · dancer · writer · autobiographer · model · women's rights activist · politician · also Betty Ford, Betty Bloomer, Elizabeth Ann Ford, Elizabeth Ann Bloomer, Elizabeth Anne Blommer Ford, Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren Ford
Born 8 April 1918 · Died 8 July 2011 · Q213122
70 published statements · 0 followers
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“From the beginning, Jerry and I tried to make the White House a place where people could have fun and enjoy themselves. Most of all we wanted the state dinners to express the very best about America, particularly during the bicentennial year.”
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“I am not very good at making up stories.”
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“I am indebted to no man and only one woman, my dear wife, Betty, as I begin this very difficult job.”
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“I agree with the Supreme Court”
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The Manila Times: Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, Newport Integrated Behavioral Healthcare Among Newsweek's Best Residential Addiction Treatment Centers for 2026
Tribute Archive: Elizabeth Ann Ford Obituary | Rosewood Funeral Home & Cemetery | Pasadena, TX
USA Today: USPS unveils a new stamp: See the latest design featuring former First Lady Betty Ford
Bloomberg L.P.: Betty Ford forever postage stamp is unveiled at the White House
Town & Country: How Betty Ford Made History Inside The White House and Beyond
Awarded National Women's Hall of Fame (2013).
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With more than 800 people in attendance, including former president George W
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Psychology Today: What we can learn from Betty Ford
Died 2011-07-08.
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At Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage
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Grand Forks Herald: BIRTHDAY: Betty Ford
Ford relinquished her chair of the center's board of directors to her daughter Susan
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Ford reaffirmed her pro-abortion rights stance and her support for the 1973 U
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Ford received the Woodrow Wilson Award in Los Angeles for her public service, awarded by the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution
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Ford produced another book, Healing and Hope: Six Women from the Betty Ford Center Share Their Powerful Journeys of Addiction and Recovery
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Awarded Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award (2000).
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The Lasker Foundation awarded Ford its annual Mary Woodard Lasker Public Service Award
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And President Ford were jointly awarded Congressional Gold Medals
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Ford was quoted as speaking against existing bans on gays serving in the military, remarking, Constitutionally all citizens have the right to serve their country as long as they abide by the rules and regulations of mili
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Was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H
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Won Presidential Medal of Freedom presented by George H. W. Bush (1991).
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Awarded Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (1987).
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Ford was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame
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Ford underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery and recovered without complications
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Ford received the Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an annual award given by the Jefferson Awards
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Ford received the Los Angeles AIDS Projects "Commitment to Life Award"
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After recovering from her own addictions, Ford established the Betty Ford Center (initially called the Betty Ford Clinic) in Rancho Mirage, California
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Ford spoke in support of the ERA on a rally held at the National Mall
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Eleanor Smeal, the National Organization for Women's president, announced Ford's appointment to be the co-chair, with Alan Alda, of the ERA Countdown Campaign
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In which she discussed her battle with addiction
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The year she had established herself as an advocate for people with drug and alcohol dependence
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The deadline for ratification of the ERA was extended from 1979 to 1982, resulting largely from a march of a hundred thousand people on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington
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Her last full day as first lady, Betty Ford used her training as a Martha Graham dancer to jump up on the Cabinet Room table
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The World Almanac included Ford in its ranking of the 25 most-influential American women
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President Jimmy Carter appointed Ford to the second National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year (the first had been appointed by President Ford)
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Which would make the 1974 United States House of Representatives election the last he would run in
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The Fords moved to Rancho Mirage, California
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The year her husband left office, she placed fourth
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Ford continued to lead an active public life
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Coinciding with President-elect Carter's White House meeting with President Ford
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Ford attended the opening of "Remember the Ladies", a Revolutionary War-era women's exhibit
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“s failed 1976 presidential campaign,”
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In order to return to private legal practice and dedicate more time to his family
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(the final full year of her husband's presidency)
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When Time named the "American women" as its "Person of the Year", the magazine profiled Ford as one of eleven women selected to represent "American women"
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Sign an executive order to establish the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year
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After having been diagnosed with the disease
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Weeks after becoming first lady, Ford conducted a press conference in the State Dining Room of the White House in which she remarked that she, "would like to be remembered in a very kind way; also as a constructive wife
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After the resignation of Richard Nixon (who was facing the prospect of likely impeachment and removal from office), Gerald Ford ascended to the position of president of the United States and Betty Ford became the first l
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The Fords hosted a state dinner for King Hussein of Jordan after president Nixon, with a week's notice, asked Vice President Ford to take over for him in hosting the already-scheduled state dinner
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After president Nixon asked then-Vice President Ford to take over for him in hosting a planned dinner for the King
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Career landmark: First Lady of the United States (1974–1977).
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Ford placed second in the poll
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And he took the oath of office before a joint session of the United States Congress while placing his hand upon a bible that Betty Ford held
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President Richard Nixon nominated Gerald Ford to serve as vice president
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Ford made her first major speech when she gave a commencement address to the graduates of the Westminster Choir College
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Career landmark: Second Lady or Gentleman of the United States (1973–1974).
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Ford suffered a significant nervous breakdown, erupting in severe crying that had appeared inexplicable to others
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A pinched nerve on the left side of Ford's neck sent her to the hospital for two weeks
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At Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids
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Elizabeth Bloomer married William G
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Bloomer moved to New York to live in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood; she worked as a fashion model for the John Robert Powers firm in order to finance her dance studies
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After graduating from high school, Bloomer proposed continuing her study of dance in New York City, but her mother refused on account of the relatively recent loss of her husband
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When Bloomer was eight years old, her mother, who valued social graces, enrolled her in the Calla Travis Dance Studio in Grand Rapids, where Ford was taught ballet, tap dancing, and modern movement
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In Chicago, Illinois, the third child and only daughter of Hortense (née Neahr; 1884–1948) and William Stephenson Bloomer Sr
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Born 1918-04-08.
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