Who was the first US president to host the White House Easter Egg Roll?

Rutherford B. Hayes was the first U.S. president to host the White House Easter Egg Roll.

The inaugural White House event took place on Easter Monday, April 22, 1878. Congress had restricted children from rolling eggs on the U.S. Capitol grounds after the popular activity damaged the lawn, so President Hayes opened the White House grounds as an alternative.

The decision created an annual presidential tradition, now held on the South Lawn and hosted by the president and first lady. Earlier egg-rolling gatherings had taken place in Washington, and stories sometimes connect informal White House festivities with presidents such as Abraham Lincoln, but Hayes is credited with officially establishing the event at the White House.

Later presidents added features that shaped the modern celebration. Benjamin Harrison arranged for the United States Marine Band to play in 1889, while wooden commemorative eggs became a familiar souvenir beginning under First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1981. The event has occasionally been canceled, relocated, or suspended because of war, conservation, restoration, weather, or public-health concerns.