Mary Margaretta Fryer Manning (1898-1901) traveled to the Paris Exposition of 1900 as the official representative of the United States, appointed by President William McKinley, to unveil statues in France of Washington and Lafayette. She attended the unveiling ceremony on July 3, 1900, of the equestrian statue of George Washington which was donated by the Association of American Women for the Presentation of a Statue of Washington to France. On July 4, 1900, Mrs. Manning delivered an address at the dedication of a statue of Lafayette, a gift from American children.
Mrs. Manning met with the French president on this same trip and received the Medal of the Legion of Honor. Belgium presented her with the titles Officier d'Alliance Publique and Chevalier l'Ordre de Leopold.
Mary Margaretta Fryer Manning was the fifth President General of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution.[1] [2]
