Quick Facts
- NAME: Elizabeth Monroe
- OCCUPATION: U.S. First Lady
- BIRTH DATE: June 30, 1768
- DEATH DATE: September 23, 1830
- PLACE OF BIRTH: New York, New York
- PLACE OF DEATH: Oak Hill, Virginia
- Maiden Name: Elizabeth Kortright
Best Known For
First Lady Elizabeth Monroe (1768–1830) was popular in Europe, but considered too aloof for Washington society.
Elizabeth Monroe. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 10:08, Feb 08, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/elizabeth-monroe-9412063
Elizabeth Monroe [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/elizabeth-monroe-9412063, February 08
" Elizabeth Monroe." 2012. Biography.com 08 Feb 2012, 10:08 http://www.biography.com/people/elizabeth-monroe-9412063
' Elizabeth Monroe', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/elizabeth-monroe-9412063 [accessed Feb 08, 2012]
" Elizabeth Monroe," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/elizabeth-monroe-9412063 (accessed Feb 08, 2012).
Elizabeth Monroe [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 Feb 08]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/elizabeth-monroe-9412063.
Elizabeth Monroe, http://www.biography.com/people/elizabeth-monroe-9412063 (last visited Feb 08, 2012).
Elizabeth Monroe, http://www.biography.com/people/elizabeth-monroe-9412063 (last visited Feb 08, 2012).
Synopsis
Profile
(born June 30, 1768, New York, New York [U.S.]—died September 23, 1830, Oak Hill, Virginia, U.S.) American first lady (1817–25), the wife of James Monroe, fifth president of the United States. Although she was noted for her beauty and elegance, her aloofness made her unpopular.Elizabeth Kortright was the daughter of Lawrence Kortright, a wealthy merchant who lost much of his fortune during the American Revolutionary War, and Hannah Aspinwall Kortright. With a reputation as a petite beauty, Elizabeth met James Monroe while she was still in her teens and he was serving as a congressional representative of his native Virginia in New York City, then the nation's capital. They married in New York on February 16, 1786, and moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he practiced law.
In 1794 James Monroe was named American minister to France, and Elizabeth accompanied him to Paris on her first trip to Europe. In Paris her charm, beauty, and flair for fashion made her very popular, and she was dubbed la belle americaine. In a dramatic gesture, she used her popularity to save the life of Marie-Adrienne Lafayette, the wife of the marquis de Lafayette, the French revolutionary leader who assisted the United States during the American Revolution. Lafayette had been imprisoned when her husband fled France, and the Monroes hoped to show their gratitude to him by obtaining his wife's freedom. Riding through the streets of Paris to the prison where Madame Lafayette was being held under a death sentence for treason, Elizabeth requested a visit, and the two women embraced in public; soon afterward Lafayette was released.
After six years in Virginia (1797–1803), the Monroes returned to Europe, where they lived in Paris and London for the next four years. Elizabeth's experiences abroad during this period influenced her greatly but also harmed her image among the American public, which came to regard her as too European and elitist. Elizabeth, for her part, preferred to distance herself from people she considered unsophisticated.
This attitude affected her reputation as first lady. Her refusal to follow the practice of her predecessor, Dolley Madison, by initiating social calls on legislators' wives as they arrived in Washington, D.C., was so insulting to the women that they prevailed on their husbands to bring the matter to the president's attention. It was resolved in Elizabeth's favour at a meeting of the cabinet in December 1817, but she soon faced other problems. When her younger daughter married in 1820, she insisted on keeping
GetGlue
-
Celebrate Black History with BIO and GetGlue
All February, check in daily to BIO Black History on GetGlue to unlock stickers, videos, and more!
profile name: Elizabeth Monroe profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Famous Cancerians 463 people in this group
-
U.S. First Ladies 45 people in this group
-
Famous People Named Elizabeth
View groupTake a look at famous people named Elizabeth, such as Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabeth Arden, and Elizabeth Olsen.
Famous People Named Elizabeth 23 people in this group

Barack Obama
Black History
African-American Firsts: Athletes
Don Cornelius
I Survived...
I Survived... Beyond and Back
Jamie Foxx
Magic Johnson
Tina Turner
I Survived


