Betsy Griscom Ross was and American flagmaker and reputed maker of the first United States flag, born in Philadelphia, Pa. After her husband's death in 1776, she managed his upholstery business.

In the same year, according to the legend, a committee led by the Revolutionary patriot George Washington, called on Betsy Ross and requested her to design and make a national flag.

In 1870 a grandson of Betsy Ross made public the family story of this visit, and it subsequently received wide circulation. Independent researchers failed to establish documentary proof of the story, however, and historians generally doubt its authenticity. Although it is known that Betsy Ross made flags for the government during the American Revolution, no conclusive evidence exists that she made the national emblem adopted by the Continental Congress on June 17, 1777.

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