Margaret Wilson | |
|---|---|
 Margaret Wilson in 1912 | |
| Acting First Lady of the United States | |
| In role August 6, 1914 – December 18, 1915 | |
| President | Woodrow Wilson |
| Preceded by | Ellen Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Edith Wilson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Margaret Woodrow Wilson (1886-04-16)April 16, 1886 Gainesville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | February 12, 1944(1944-02-12) (aged 57) |
| Parents | |
Margaret Woodrow Wilson (April 16, 1886 – February 12, 1944) was the eldest daughter ofU.S. PresidentWoodrow Wilson andEllen Louise Axson. She is best known for serving asFirst Lady of the United States from August 1914 to December 1915, during the period between her mother's death and her father's remarriage toEdith Bolling Galt.[1][2]
Born inGainesville, Georgia, Wilson spent her early years in academic environments due to her father's career as a professor, later attendingGoucher College and training in voice and piano at thePeabody Institute.[2] She developed a strong interest in music, social service, and education, and became an accomplishedsoprano singer, making several recordings and performing forAllied troops duringWorld War I.[1][3]
Wilson was also an advocate forwomen's suffrage and, despite her father's policies supporting segregation, she worked to improve conditions for African American students inWashington, D.C.[1][2] Later in her life, she became deeply interested in spirituality. In 1938, she moved to theSri Aurobindo Ashram inPondicherry, India, where she was given the nameNishtha (Sanskrit:निष्ठा,lit. 'devotion'). She remained at the ashram until her death in 1944.[1][4]
Margaret Woodrow Wilson was born inGainesville, Georgia, on April 16, 1886. At the time of her birth, Wilson's parents were living nearPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania; her father was on the faculty ofBryn Mawr College. She had two siblings:Jessie, andEleanor. Both of her parents strongly identified with theSouth. Consequently, Ellen Wilson did not want her children born asYankees and arranged to stay with family in Gainesville for Margaret's birth. Margaret attended local schools, some of which were associated with the colleges where her father taught. She was a member of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority at Goucher College, alongside her sister Jessie.[5]
In his will, Wilson's father had bequeathed her anannuity of $2,500 annually (worth $45,869 today) as long as that amount did not exceed one-third of the annual income of his estate, and as long as she remained unmarried.[6] Wilson sang, and she made several recordings. In 1914, "My Laddie" was released onColumbia Records, #39195.[7]
In 1938, Wilson traveled tothe ashram ofSri Aurobindo inPondicherry,India, where she remained for the rest of her life. She became a member and devotee of the ashram and was given the new nameNistha, meaning "dedication" inSanskrit. She and the scholarJoseph Campbell edited the English translation of the classical work on theHindu mystic,Sri Ramakrishna,The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna bySwami Nikhilananda, which was published in 1942, byRamakrishna-Vivekananda Center, New York.[8]
Wilson died fromuremia on February 12, 1944, at the age of 57, and was buried in Pondicherry, India, unmarried, and without issue.[9]
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | First Lady of the United States Acting 1914–1915 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
