Victoria Anna David Tolbert (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

David; 12 July 1916November 1997) was the First Lady of

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

from 1971 to 1980.

Early life and education

Victoria Anna David was born on 12 July 1916 in

Robertsport Robertsport is a town in western Liberia, about 10 miles (16 km) from the Sierra Leone border. It is named after Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first president of Liberia. The town lies on Cape Mount peninsula, a spit of land separating the bracki ...

Grand Cape Mount County Grand Cape Mount is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that constitute the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has five districts. Robertsport serves as the capital ...

. Her father, Isaac David, was an American immigrant from

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. Her mother, Rosaline Houston was a native Liberian of Vai ethnicity. Victoria was given a basic education by the Episcopal missionary Margarita S. Ridgely at the House of Bethany. Victoria later trained to become an elementary school teacher. She started teaching kindergarten at a mission school in 1934, and it was there she met

William Tolbert William Richard Tolbert Jr. (13 May 1913 – 12 April 1980) was a Liberian politician who served as the 20th president of Liberia from 1971 until his assassination in 1980. Tolbert was an Americo-Liberian and trained as a civil servant before en ...

Marriage

Victoria married

on 12 May 1936 in Robertsport. Not long after the marriage, the couple moved to

Bensonville Bensonville is the capital city of Montserrado County, Liberia. As of the 2008 national census, its population stood at 4,089. Bensonville is located away from the national capital, Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, ca ...

, where she continued her work as a teacher, and William began working as a government paymaster. In 1951, William was elected as

Vice President of Liberia The vice president of the Republic of Liberia is the second-highest executive official in Liberia, and one of only two elected executive offices along with the President of Liberia, president. The vice president is elected on the same ticket w ...

. In July 1971, upon the death of President

William Tubman William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman (29 November 1895 – 23 July 1971) was a Liberian politician. He was the 19th president of Liberia and the longest-serving president in the country's history, serving from his election in 1944 until his dea ...

, William Tolbert became

President of Liberia The president of the Republic of Liberia is the head of state and government of Liberia. The president serves as the leader of the executive branch and as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia. Prior to the independence of Liber ...

. As first lady, Victoria initiated the fundraiser known as the Annual Calendar Tea. The fundraiser was held on 19 November, in honor of former President Tubman's birthday, and raised money for poor children's scholarships. In 1972, Victoria joined her husband during his visit to

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

to preside over the interment of the late Ghanaian leader

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

. Victoria and William had eight children together.

Widowhood and death

President Tolbert was killed in the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

on 12 April 1980.Dunn; Beyan; Burrowes; ''Historical Dictionary of Liberia'', pp. 325. Following the coup, Victoria was imprisoned and then put under house arrest for months by

Samuel Doe Samuel Kanyon Doe (6 May 1951 – 9 September 1990) was a Liberian politician and military officer who served as the 21st President of Liberia from 1986 to 1990. He ruled Liberia as Chairman of the People's Redemption Council (PRC) from 1980 ...

's regime. Victoria was ultimately freed and allowed to leave for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In the United States, she lived in

White Plains, New York White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...

, for a time before moving to

Plymouth, Minnesota Plymouth is a city in Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the city is about west of downtown Minneapolis. The population was 81,026 at the 2020 census, making it Minnes ...

, with one of her daughters. In 1996, Tolbert released a book she wrote entitled ''Lifted Up: The Victoria Tolbert Story''. In November 1997, Victoria died of a heart attack in Plymouth. Sources are inconsistent on the exact date of her death. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' printed that she died on 8 November, while the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

printed that she died on 9 November. She was interred at

Kensico Cemetery Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, New York, Valhalla, Westchester County, New York was founded in 1889, when many New York City cemeteries were becoming full, and rural cemeteries were being created near the railroads that served the city ...

Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...

, New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolbert, Victoria 1916 births 1997 deaths Americo-Liberian people Burials at Kensico Cemetery First ladies and gentlemen of Liberia Liberian expatriates in the United States Liberian prisoners and detainees People from Grand Cape Mount County People from Montserrado County People from Plymouth, Minnesota People from White Plains, New York Prisoners and detainees of Liberia

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

20th-century Liberian people 20th-century Liberian women writers