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American educational organization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The White House Historical Association, founded in 1961[4] through efforts of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, is a private, nonprofit organization[5] that works to preserve the history of the White House and make its history more accessible to the public.[6][7] As of March 2022[update], the president of the association is Stewart McLaurin.[4][8]
White House Historical Association building on Jackson Place in Washington, D.C. | |
| Abbreviation | WHHA |
|---|---|
| Formation | November 3, 1961[1] |
| Founder | Jacqueline Kennedy[2] |
| Type | Private non-profit[3] |
| Purpose | Historical education and preservation |
President | Stewart McLaurin |
| Website | whitehousehistory |
After moving into the White House in 1961, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy founded the White House Historical Association, which was chartered on November 3 of that year.[4][2] The goals of the association were to raise private funds for maintaining and renovating the White House[5] and to create an official White House guidebook.[9]
In 1981, under First Lady Nancy Reagan, the association began its current practice of selling a unique White House Christmas ornament to the public each year. Beginning in 1982, each year's ornament honors a different president.[10] Since 1981, the ornaments are primarily manufactured at Beacon Design by ChemArt in Lincoln, Rhode Island.[11][12] As of 2019[update], hundreds of thousands of ornaments are sold each year.[13] The White House Historical Association also produces the wooden eggs distributed during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.[14]
Financier and former White House staffer David M. Rubenstein donated $10 million to the association in 2011 to establish the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History, an educational institute under the White House Historical Association's purview.[15][16] In 2016, the association created a Digital Library, currently hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The partnership between the association and AWS expanded the following year.[17] In 2018, the association shared a collection of roughly 25,000 photographs of White House history that it had organized and digitized for the first time.[18][6] The association also created a monthly podcast, called 1600 Sessions, in 2017.[17]
In its work, the White House Historical Association collaborates with the first family,[19] the White House chief usher,[20] and the curator of the White House.[21] The association focuses on maintaining and interpreting the state rooms of the White House Executive Residence and the rest of the White House Complex.[1] The association also works with the Committee for the Preservation of the White House to curate and purchase new decorations and art for the White House.[7][1] This includes funding the creation of unique state china tableware for several presidential administrations[22] and funding one portrait of each President and First Lady.[23][24] The association also helps fund maintenance and restoration of some rooms of the White House.[25][26]
The association publishes the official White House guide. In the White House Visitor Center, the association operates a gift shop and book store.[27] The association also creates and publishes media on the history, art, and architecture of the White House, and the quarterly journal White House History. As of 1995[update], books published by the association had sold more than eight million copies.[7] The association sponsors scholarship, seminars, and exhibitions on the history of the White House. As of 2009[update], the association awarded three White House History Fellowships each year in collaboration with the Organization of American Historians.[28] It operates the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History at Decatur House.[29][16]
The majority of the funding for the White House Historical Association comes from private contributions,[17] in addition to corporate contributions and the sale of publications and gift items.[7] The association manages the White House Acquisition Trust and the White House Endowment Trust.[30]
The association’s current president, Stewart McLaurin, has served since 2014,[31] focused on expanding its audiences, educational programming, development base and impact. He is the author of James Hoban: Designer and Builder of the White House.[32]
Previous top executives have been Nash Castro, Daniel E. Davis, Hillory A. Tolson, Bernard R. Meyer and Neil W. Horstman.[33] The current board chair, John F. W. Rogers, has served since January 2022.[34] Previous board chairs were Fred Ryan, David E. Finley Jr., Dr. Melvin Payne, Robert L. Breeden, Hugh Sidey, and Henry A. Dudley Jr.[33]
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