总统是如何遇到这些"第一夫人"的? 10个会让你惊叹的爱情故事

We often think of presidents and First Ladies as stodgy old men and women.

我们经常会认为总统和第一夫人们是乏味的老男人和老女人。

But they too were once young, and the stories of how these power couples first got together show a human side to the presidency.

但是他们也曾年轻过。这些总统和夫人们在一起的故事为我们展现了权力之外的人情味。

When Georgie Met Martha

当乔治遇见玛莎
In 1758 Martha Dandridge Curtis was 27 and recently widowed, and a very wealthy woman.

1758年，玛莎·丹德里奇·柯蒂斯27岁，非常富有而且刚刚成为寡妇。

That year George Washington, also 27 and already a colonel in the Virginia militia (and not at all wealthy) met Martha via the Virginia high-society social scene and proceeded to court her.

那一年，乔治华盛顿也是27岁。他是一个一点不富有的陆军上校，在弗吉尼亚的一次高级社交场合认识了玛莎，并开始追求她。

Courtship was quick, and they were married in January 1759, in what at the time was viewed as a marriage of convenience.

求爱的过程很迅速，然后他们就在1759年的1月结婚了。这桩婚姻在那时被视为一桩交易性婚姻。

They were, however, happily married for 41 years. (Note: The marriage took place at the plantation that Martha owned, in what was called the “White House.”)

然而他们结婚后快乐地生活了41年 。（注：婚礼在玛莎名下叫做“白宫”的大农场举行）

When Johnny Met Louisa

当约翰遇见路易莎

Louisa Catherine Johnson, who was born in London, met John Quincy Adams at her home in Nantes, France, in 1779.

路易莎·凯瑟琳·约翰逊出生在伦敦。1779年，她在法国南特的家中遇见了约翰·昆西·亚当斯。

She was 4; he was 12.

那时候她4岁，他12岁。

Adams was traveling with his father, John Adams, who was on a diplomatic mission in Europe.

亚当斯那时正在跟随着他的父亲出游。他的父亲正在欧洲执行一项外交任务。

The two met again in 1795 in London, when John was a minister to the Netherlands.

这两个人1795年在伦敦再次见面了。当时约翰是荷兰的大使。

He courted her, all the while telling her she’d have to improve herself if she was going to live up to his family’s standards (his father was vice president at the time).

他追求了她，并且一直都在跟她说，如果她想达到他们家选人的标准，她就需要进行自我完善。（约翰的爸爸当时是副总统）

She married him anyway, in 1797, and his family made it no secret that they disapproved of the “foreigner” in their family.

她还是在1797年和他结婚了。但男方的家庭一直不赞成这个“外来者”的加入。

Nevertheless, they were married until John Quincy Adams’s death in 1848. Louisa remains the only foreign-born First Lady in U.S. history.

然而，直到1848年约翰死的时候他们依然在一起。在美国历史上，路易莎是唯一一位出生于国外的总统夫人。

When Jimmy Met Ann

当詹姆斯遇见安

In the summer of 1819, James Buchanan, 28, became engaged to Ann Coleman, 23, the daughter of a wealthy iron magnate in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

在1819年的夏天，28岁的詹姆斯·布坎南与23岁的钢铁大亨之女安·科尔曼在宾夕法尼亚的兰开斯特订婚。

He spent very little time with her during the first months of the engagement, being extremely busy at his law office, and rumors swirled that he was seeing other women and was only marrying her for her money.

在刚订婚的第一个月，詹姆斯几乎不和妻子在一起，因为他的律师事务所工作非常忙。有谣言说他出轨了，而且他和她结婚只是为了钱。

The rumors are believed to be untrue, but Ann took them to heart, and in November, after several distraught weeks, she wrote to him that the engagement was off.

人们相信谣言是不真实的，但是安对此很往心里去。11月，在心烦意乱地过了几周之后，她给他写信说，订婚终止了。

On December 9 she died of an overdose of laudanum, possibly in a suicide.

12月9日，她死于过量服用鸦片，很可能是自杀。

Buchanan was devastated, and even more so when her family refused to allow him to see Ann’s body or attend her funeral.

布坎南被击溃了，尤其是她的家人拒绝让他出席她的葬礼或者是见她一面的时候，他感到更加绝望。

He disappeared for some time but eventually returned to his work in Lancaster.

他沮丧了一段日子，但最后还是回到兰卡斯特继续工作了。

After Ann’s death, Buchanan vowed that he would never marry.

安死后，詹姆斯发誓他再也不会结婚了。

He didn’t… and remains the only bachelor president in American history.

他的确没有。并且他是美国历史上唯一一任单身汉总统。

When Harry Met Bessie

当哈里遇见贝丝

In 1890, when they were both small children, Harry Truman met Bess Wallace at the Baptist Church in Independence, Missouri.

1890年，当他们都是小孩子的时候，哈里·杜鲁门在密苏里的浸信会教堂遇见了贝丝·华勒斯。

They were both attending Sunday school.

他们都要去参加周末的主日学。

He was six; she was five.

他6岁，她5岁。

Truman later wrote of their first meeting: “We made a number of new acquaintances, and I became interested in one in particular.

杜鲁门后来这样描述他们的第一次见面：“我们都有了一些新相识，我对其中一个特别感兴趣。”

She had golden curls and has, to this day, the most beautiful blue eyes.

“她有着金色的卷发，还有着迄今为止我所见过的最美丽的蓝眼睛。”

We went to Sunday school, public school from the fifth grade through high school, graduated in the same class, and marched down life’s road together.

“我们一起去主日学，从5年级到高中都在同一个学校同一个班级。之后，我们便一起在人生的路上前行。”

For me she still has the blue eyes and golden hair of yesteryear.”

“对我来说，她现在依然有着和曾经一样的蓝色眼睛和金色头发。”

Bess and Harry were married in 1919.

1919年，贝丝和哈里结婚。

When Richie Met Pattie

当理查德遇上帕特

Thelma “Pat” Ryan graduated from the University of Southern California in 1937 at the age of 25.

特尔玛“帕特”瑞安1937年毕业于南加州大学，时年25岁。

She got a job as a high school teacher in Whittier, a small town not far from Los Angeles, and became a member of the amateur theatrical group the Whittier Community Players.

她在一个离洛杉矶不远的小城惠蒂尔当高中教师，并成为了惠蒂尔社区业余剧团的一名成员。

In 1938 Richard Nixon, a 26-year-old lawyer who had just opened a firm in nearby La Habra, joined the theater group, thinking that acquiring acting skills would help him in the courtroom.

1938年，理查德·尼克松，一个26岁的律师加入了这个剧团。他刚刚在拉哈布拉附近开了一家公司。他觉得学习演技可以帮他在法庭上更出色地发挥。

In their first performance, Nixon was cast opposite Ryan.

在第一场演出中，尼克松和瑞安演对手戏。

He asked her out, and asked her to marry him on their first date. They were married three years later.

他约她出去，并在第一次约会时就向她求婚。三年之后他们就结婚了。

When Ronnie Met Nancy

当罗纳德遇见南希

Ronald Reagan wrote in his autobiography that he first met Nancy Davis when she came to him for help.

罗纳德·里根在他的自传中写道，他第一次遇见南希·戴维斯的时候，她正向他寻求帮助。

He was president of the Screen Actors Guild, and she couldn’t get a job acting in movies because another Nancy Davis’s name had shown up on the Hollywood blacklist of alleged communists.

他是美国演员工会的会长。因为一个和她重名的演员出现在好莱坞所谓共产党员的黑名单中，她不能出演电影了。

But according to Jon Weiner’s book Professors, Politics, and Pop, SAG records show that Nancy’s blacklist problem occurred in 1953, a year after the Reagans were married.

但据乔恩维纳的书《专家，政治和流行》所载，美国演员工会的记录显示南希的黑名单问题发生在1953年，那时候里根已经结婚一年了。

So how did they meet? Reagan biographer Anne Edwards says that in 1949 Nancy, who had just become an MGM contract player, told a friend of Reagan’s that she wanted to meet him.

所以他们到底是怎么见面的？里根的传记作者安妮爱德华兹说，1949年，刚刚成为米高梅演员公司一员的南希和里根的朋友说她想见他一面。

The friend invited the two to a small dinner party, and the rest is history.

这个朋友请他俩一起去了一个小型晚宴。然后之后的事情就和历史写的一样了。

When Georgie Met Laura

当乔治遇见劳拉

Joe and Jan O’Neill lived in Midland, Texas, and were childhood friends of Laura Welch.

乔奥尼尔和简·奥尼尔住在德克萨斯的米德兰，是劳拉·韦尔奇的童年伙伴。

In 1975 another childhood friend, George W. Bush, came back to Midland after being away for a few years.

1975年，另一位童年伙伴，乔治·布什在离开了几年之后回到了米德兰。

The O’Neills bugged Laura to go out with George, but she didn’t want to.

奥尼尔兄弟缠着劳拉，让她去和布什约会，但她不想去。

She later said that the O’Neills were only trying to get them together “because we were the only two people from that era in Midland who were still single.”

她之后说，奥尼尔让他俩在一起，只是因为在那些米德兰时代的伙伴里，他俩是仅有的单身。

She finally agreed to meet him at a backyard barbecue in 1977, when she was 30 and he was 31.

1977年，她最终同意在一次花园烧烤中和他见面。那时她30岁，他31岁。

George was smitten; Laura was, too. They were married three months later.

乔治布什对她一见钟情，劳拉也是。3个月之后他们就结婚了。

When Barry Met Michelle

当奥巴马遇见米歇尔

In 1989 Michelle Robinson was working at a Chicago law firm when she was assigned to mentor a summer associate from Harvard with a “strange name”: Barack Obama.

1989年，米歇尔·罗宾逊在芝加哥一家法律公司工作时，被指派作为一个哈佛大学来的暑期实习生的导师。这个学生有着奇怪的名字：“贝拉克·奥巴马”。

Not long after, Barack, 27, asked Michelle, 25, on a date.

不久之后，27岁的贝拉克就和25岁的米歇尔约会了。

She later admitted that she was reluctant to date one of the few black men at the large firm because it seemed “tacky.”

她之后承认，她不想和这家大法律公司里为数不多的几个黑人之一约会，因为这显得太“俗气”。

Robinson finally relented, and after dating for several months, she suggested they get married.

罗宾逊最后还是缓和了态度，并且在约会了几个月之后提议他们结婚。

He wasn’t interested. One night in 1991, during dinner at a Chicago restaurant, she brought it up again.

他对这事不感兴趣。1991年的一个晚上，在芝加哥的餐馆里，她又提起了这件事。

Again, he said no.

他再次拒绝了。

But when dessert showed up, there was an engagement ring in a box on one of the plates. They were married in 1992.

但是当饭后甜点上来的时候，其中有一个盘子上面放着一个盒子，盒子里面是一个订婚戒指。他们于1992年结婚。

美妙的故事！