#24: Dolley Madison
By most accounts, President James Madison’s vivacious wife, Dolley, was the life of the party in Washington, D.C.’s high society. When the White House was completed, Dolley oversaw the decoration of the new presidential home and hosted lavish social events there. She had a strong and determined side, too. When the British burned the White House during the War of 1812, it was Dolley who feverishly worked to save many of the valuable pieces in the building. One of those was the large portrait of George Washington, which Dolley ordered to be removed from the White House before the British arrived.
