Today in American History…former First Lady Julia Grant was born on January 26, 1826 near St Louis, Missouri. Later in life, when writing her personal memoirs, she described her childhood as “one long summer of sunshine, flowers, and smiles…”

Mrs. Grant is the first First Lady to have written her memoirs. When she passed away in 1902 the manuscript remained private and unpublished for decades.

The book, The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant (Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant), was officially published by Southern Illinois University Press in 1975.

(Photo by Matthew Brady)