Nan Britton

Nan Popham Britton was born on November 9, 1896, and died on March 21, 1991. She was an American woman known for her claim of a romantic relationship with Warren G. Harding, the 29th President of the United States.

Britton's early life was centered in Marion, Ohio, where she resided with her family. Her father was Samuel H. Britton, a physician. During her high school years, Britton developed an interest in Harding, who was a local figure and the brother of Harding's wife, Florence. Abigail Harding, Warren G. Harding’s younger sister, was a high school English teacher for Britton. At the age of early teens, Britton became infatuated with Harding, which her father discussed with Harding himself. Harding, who was married in 1891 and involved in an extramarital affair with Carrie Fulton Phillips, met with Britton, offering her reassurance that she would find her ideal partner in the future.

Following her graduation from high school in 1914, Britton moved to New York City to work as a secretary. She claimed that during this period, she began an intimate relationship with Harding.

Harding's death occurred in August 1923. In 1927, Britton published "The President's Daughter," a memoir in which she described her relationship with Harding during his presidency. She identified Harding as the father of her daughter, Elizabeth Ann, born in 1919. She claimed that Harding had promised to support their daughter financially, but after his death, his wife, Florence Harding, allegedly refused to honor this promise. The memoir included accounts of intimate encounters, including a specific anecdote of a sexual act taking place in a closet near the White House office.

Britton's motivations for publishing this account were to support her daughter financially and to advocate for the rights of illegitimate children. She initiated a legal case, Britton v. Klunk, but the case was unsuccessful due to lack of concrete evidence and the adverse cross-examination by Congressman Grant Mouser. Critics portrayed her as a crude womanizer, and her book received both criticism and notoriety. The book was reviewed by Dorothy Parker in The New Yorker, who gave it an irreverent critique under the title "An American DuBarry".

In 1964, additional evidence emerged when over 250 love letters from Harding to Carrie Fulton Phillips surfaced, which supported Britton's claims. At that time, Britton was living in Illinois in relative seclusion. She was contacted by journalist R.W. Apple Jr., but she declined an interview. Throughout her later life, her daughter and grandchildren faced unwanted attention and skepticism regarding her claims, which intensified during U.S. presidential election periods.

In her final years, Britton relocated to Oregon, where her grandchildren lived as of 2015. She passed away in Sandy, Oregon, in 1991. Until her death, she maintained her assertion that Harding was her daughter's father. In 2015, DNA testing conducted by Ancestry.com confirmed through descendants of Harding's brother and Britton's grandchildren that Elizabeth was indeed Harding's daughter.

Her life and story have been referenced in popular culture; for example, Virginia Kull portrayed Nan Britton in the first season of HBO's "Boardwalk Empire."