The first woman to work in the White House

Alice Sanger mustered her courage, put on her winter coat, and headed out the door early Thursday morning, January 2, 1890. The first day on a new job is always an anxious day. But it was doubly so for Alice. The 24-year-old walked through the columned north portico of her new place of employment, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and was welcomed aboard by her new boss, the president of the United States.

Exactly 130 years ago today, Alice Sanger became the first woman to serve on a president’s staff.