Varina Banks Howell Davis (May 7, 1826 – October 16, 1906) was the second wife of the politician Jefferson Davis, who became president of the Confederate States of America in 1861. She served as the First Lady of the new nation at the capital in Richmond, Virginia, although she was ambivalent about the war. Born and raised in the South and well educated in Philadelphia, she had family in both regions and unconventional views for a woman in her public role.