Anne Williams Wheaton (September 11, 1892 – March 23, 1977) was an American publicist. She was born in

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

and attended

Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts. After her graduation in 1912, Wheaton went to work for the Albany Knickerbocker Press where she copied recipes. She continued in their employ until 1921. From 1924 to 1939, Wheaton was public relations director for several national women's organizations. She also served as director of the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

for six years. From 1939 to 1957, Wheaton served as assistant to the director of Publicity for the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

. In 1940, 1944, 1948, and 1952, she served as publicly representative for the wives of Republican presidential candidates. In 1952, she served as press representative for

Mamie Eisenhower Mary Geneva "Mamie" Eisenhower (; November 14, 1896 – November 1, 1979) was First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 as the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Born in Boone, Iowa, she was raised in a wealthy household in Colo ...

. On May 2, 1957, in President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

's office, Wheaton was sworn in as Associate Press Secretary at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. She was the first woman to hold that post. Following Eisenhower's November 1957 stroke, Wheaton was left to speak to the press without much knowledge of the president's medical condition. She died in Dallas, Texas on March 23, 1977.

References

External links

Papers of Anne Williams Wheaton, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential LibraryPhotograph of Dwight D. Eisenhower, James Hagerty and Anne Wheaton returning to the White House after a press conference, The Presidential Timeline of the 20th Century
(Retrieved 2-26-09) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheaton, Anne Williams 1892 births 1977 deaths American public relations people Eisenhower administration personnel Simmons University alumni