Portrait of Margaret Truman

Birthday profile

Margaret Truman

Margaret Truman, American singer and author (died 2008)

Born
February 17, 1924
Died
January 29, 2008
Zodiac sign
Aquarius
Birth year
1924

About Margaret Truman

Mary Margaret Truman Daniel (February 17, 1924 – January 29, 2008) was an American classical soprano, actress, journalist, radio and television personality, writer, and New York socialite. She was the only child of President Harry S. Truman and First Lady Bess Truman. While her father was president during the years 1945 to 1953, Margaret regularly accompanied him on campaign trips, such as the 1948 countrywide whistle-stop campaign lasting several weeks. She also appeared at important White House and political events during those years and was a favorite with the media. After graduating from George Washington University in 1946, Truman embarked on a career as a coloratura soprano, beginning with a concert appearance with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1947. She appeared in the US in concerts with orchestras and in recitals through 1956. She made recordings for RCA Victor and made television appearances on programs such as What's My Line? and The Bell Telephone Hour. In 1957, one year after her marriage, Truman abandoned her singing career to pursue a career as a journalist and radio personality when she became the cohost of the program Weekday with Mike Wallace. She also wrote articles as an independent journalist for a variety of publications in the 1960s and 1970s. Truman later became the successful author of a series of murder mysteries as well as a number of works on first ladies and their families, including well-received biographies of her father. Truman was married to journalist Clifton Daniel, managing editor of The New York Times. The couple had four sons and lived in a Park Avenue apartment.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Margaret Truman timeline

  1. While her father was president during the years 1945 to 1953, Margaret regularly accompanied him on campaign trips, such as the 1948 countrywide whistle-stop campaign lasting several weeks.
  2. In 1957, one year after her marriage, Truman abandoned her singing career to pursue a career as a journalist and radio personality when she became the cohost of the program Weekday with Mike Wallace.

The world when Margaret Truman was born

Margaret Truman was born in 1924. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1924

  • #1 song"It Had to Be You" – Isham Jones
  • Top movieThe Thief of Bagdad (Douglas Fairbanks)
  • Best-selling bookSo Big – Edna Ferber

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France
  • Top headlineCalvin Coolidge elected president in a landslide
  • Technology milestoneIBM founded
  • Defining fadMah-jongg craze sweeps America
  • Notable inventionSpiral-bound notebook
  • World population1.95 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderCalvin Coolidge
  • Sports championWashington Senators (World Series)
  • U.S. population114.1M

1924 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Margaret Truman's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19242026
Gas$0.21$3.45/gal
Average home$5,800$435,000
Average income$3,520$67,500
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population114.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.