Leading Ladies

Five Things to Know About Alice Roosevelt:

1. During an interview in 1974, Alice described herself as a “hedonist.”

2. Alice had a pet snake named Emily Spinach who she would take to parties.

3. Alice was extremely independent and unlike many women of her time, she was known to wear pants, drive cars, smoke cigarettes, place bets with bookies, and party all night.

4. Quite the socialite, in a span of 15 months, she managed to attend 300 parties, 350 balls and 407 dinners.

5. William Howard Taft banned her from the White House after Alice buried a voodoo doll (of Taft’s wife) in the front yard. Woodrow Wilson also banned her after she told a very dirty joke (sadly no record of the joke exists) about him in public.

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