Margaret Truman

Margaret Truman Daniel, also known as Margaret Truman or Margaret Daniel, was an American singer and author. She was born on February 17, 1924, in Missouri and was the only child of former US President Harry S. Truman and his wife Bess. Margaret was named after her aunt Mary Jane Truman and her maternal grandmother Margaret Gates Wallace, but was called Margaret from early childhood.

Margaret pursued a singing career in the late 1940s, after graduating from George Washington University and receiving operatic vocal training. She debuted with a radio broadcast of a vocal recital in March 1947. However, her singing career was met with criticism, most notably from Washington Post music critic Paul Hume, who wrote that she "cannot sing very well" in 1950. In response, President Truman wrote a letter to Hume, expressing his displeasure. Despite the criticism, Margaret continued to perform on stage, radio, and television until the mid-1950s.

Margaret's place in pop culture was confirmed by her appearances as a Guest Panelist on the popular game show What's My Line?, replacing Dorothy Kilgallen several times and also appearing as a Mystery Guest. She also wrote several non-fiction and fiction books. Her critically acclaimed, full-length biography of her father, Harry S. Truman, was published shortly before his death in 1972. She also wrote a detailed personal biography of her mother, Bess W. Truman, in 1986. Margaret wrote books on White House first ladies and pets, the history of the White House and its inhabitants, and a critically successful series of fictional murder mysteries set in various locations in and around Washington, D.C.

Margaret Truman-Daniel died in Chicago at the age of 83 on January 29, 2008, following a brief illness during which she was on a respirator and living in an assisted care facility. She was interred in her parents' burial plot at the Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.