Eleanor Roosevelt Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements of the American First Lady & Human Rights Act Miscellaneous Eleanor Roosevelt Biography Eleanor Roosevelt was the the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. Check out this biography to know about her childhood, family life, achievements and other facts related to her life. Quick Facts Wife of American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Activist and Promoter of New Deal Nationality Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt, Jr., Gracie Hall Roosevelt Spouse/Partner: Franklin D. Roosevelt children Elliott Roosevelt, Anna Roosevelt Halsted, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr., James Roosevelt, John Aspinwall Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. education Finishing school Image Credit By Unknown or not provided (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Eleanor Roosevelt was the wife of former American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. After the death of President Roosevelt, Eleanor rose to fame with her work related to womenâs empowerment, New Deal coalition and as a writer, public speaker and political activist.

She was a keen political figure who had chaired the John F. Kennedy administration's path breaking committee that brought the start of second-wave feminism. Her role as the chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women from 1961 to 1962 made her rank in the top ten of the âGallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Centuryâ. Eleanor Roosevelt was a powerful figure who played a significant role in co-founding the NGO, âFreedom Houseâ and supporting the formation of the United Nations. She worked hard to bring positive changes in statuses of working women. She was a woman of various roles. She was invited by President Harry S. Truman and confirmed by the United States Senate to become a delegate to the UN General Assembly from 1945 and 1952. Eleanor Roosevelt rose much higher than being just the wife of President Roosevelt as she not only supported her husbandâs New Deal policies but also became a prominent advocate of Americaâs civil rights. Childhood & Early Life Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884 in New York City.

Her parents, Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt and Anna Rebecca Hall, were well-known socialites.Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, was her fatherâs elder brother. Eleanor, who preferred to be known by her second name, was the eldest of her parentsâ three children and had two brothers, Elliott Bulloch Jr. and Gracie Hall Roosevelt. In addition, she had a half brother named Elliott Roosevelt Mann, born through her father's liaison with a family employee Katy Mann. In October 1892, Eleanorâs mother died from diphtheria and in May 1893, her brother Elliott passed away from the same disease. Soon her alcoholic father had to be confined into a sanatorium. He died there in August 1894. Eleanor and Hall now began to live in the household of their maternal grandmother, Mary Livingston Ludlow, in Tivoli, New York. Although all her material needs were taken care of, mentally she was very unhappy and insecure. In spite of that, she took good care of Hall. Eleanor was educated at home up to the age of fifteen.

Thereafter, at the insistence of her aunt Anna Roosevelt Cowles, her fatherâs sister and a trusted confidante of President Roosevelt, she was sent to Allenswood Academy, a private finishing school in Wimbledon, England. Here she studied from 1899 to 1902 and under the guidance of the headmistress she began to blossom. Her training during this period played a key role in shaping her social as well as political ambitions. Return To USA In 1902, Eleanor returned to USA at the bidding of her grandmother to be presented at the debutante ball in December. However, by then she had changed a lot and was more interested in social activities than parties and balls. She now joined the National Consumers League as well as the Junior League for the Promotion of Settlement Movements and volunteered to teach at the College Settlement. Her dedication soon attracted the attention of reform circles in New York. Also in the summer of 1902, she met Franklin Delano Roosevelt, her fatherâs fifth cousin from the Hyde Park line of the family. Subsequently, they got married on March 17, 1905 with Theodore Roosevelt signing the marriage certificate as a witness.

For about a decade, Eleanorâs life was controlled by her dominant mother-in-law Sara Ann Delano Roosevelt. She lived in the neighboring property in Hyde Park and for easier access into her sonâs home, had connecting doors built between the two properties. She ran both the households. Later, when her children began to be born, Sara also took control of their upbringing. Eleanor continued to struggle, concentrating on her domestic duties. Sometime in 1911, FDR, as Franklin Roosevelt was popularly known, was elected to the New York Senate. Taking this opportunity, Eleanor moved to Albany, away from her dominating mother-in-law and set up her first real home. Political Awakening In the fall of 1913, FDR joined Woodrow Wilsonâs administration as an Assistant Secretary of Navy. Eleanor now began to have a more proactive role, overseeing FDRâs transition from a Senator to a Junior Cabinet Member. It not only increased her managerial skills, but also boosted her self-confidence. She now became more independent. During the First World War, Eleanor began her war-related work, volunteering to serve the navy hospitals and American Red Cross.

In September 1918, as the WWI was drawing to an end, she discovered that FDR was having an affair with his secretary Lucy Mercer and was contemplating of leaving her. Although the marriage survived, Eleanor became disillusioned with it and from then on the marriage was reduced to a political partnership. Emergence As A Public Figure In 1920, FDR was nominated as the Democratic vice presidential candidate. Eleanor toured the country with him, making her first campaign appearances. As the Democrats lost the election, they returned to New York, where she continued with her public works. In August 1921, FDR was afflicted with polio and became paralyzed. While his mother wanted him to retire from politics, Eleanor persuaded him to continue with it. She not only tended him devotedly, but also began to serve as a stand-in, making public appearances for him. At the same time, she started working with the Women's Trade Union League, raising funds for them. Over the time, she became an influential leader with the New York State Democratic Party. In 1924, she campaigned for Democrat Alfred E. Smith against her first cousin Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. in their run for New York State governorship.

While Smith won the election by 105,000 votes, her relationship with her family became sour. In 1927, Eleanor, along with few of her friends established Val-Kill Industries to provide supplemental income for local farming families; here they made furniture, pewter, and homespun cloth using traditional craft methods. She also played an important role in expanding the Dalton School. In 1928, she played a significant role in promoting FDR in his successful bid as the governor of New York. During her husbandâs governorship, Eleanor traveled widely through the state, inspecting state facilities, giving speeches and reporting to FDR at the end of each trip. Tenure As The First Lady On March 4, 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the 32nd President of the United States of America and with that Eleanor Roosevelt became the First Lady of the country. However, the designation actually depressed her because she could not envisage a life similar to the ones led by the previous First Ladies. Therefore, she set on redefining the role and with her husbandâs firm support, continued looking after her business interests and also giving speeches.

While this attracted criticism, she earned $75,000 from her lectures and writing in the very first year. While the âBonus Armyâ of WWI veterans and their families came marching to Washington DC, Eleanor went to meet them. She defused the tension between the administration and the veterans, paving the way for a permanent solution. During her tenure as the First Lady between 1933 and 1945, she traveled widely, appeared regularly at press conferences and spoke about human rights, womenâs issues and childrenâs causes. She also appeared regularly at labor meetings, reaching out to the workers during the Great Depression. Moreover, she actively supported American Youth Congress and National Youth Administration, the latter being a New Deal Agency formed in the response to the Great Depression. She also dedicated a lot of her time and energy for anti-lynching campaigns and for fair housing for minorities. As the Second World War broke out in 1939, she took up war time causes like allowing immigration of European refugee children to USA. She also tried to persuade the administration to accept greater number of Jews, persecuted by Nazis, but was not very successful in that.

In 1941, Eleanor Roosevelt co-chaired the Office of Civilian Defense and also wrote a script for a short film 'Women in Defense', which was released in the same year. Concurrently, she began to encourage women of all classes to learn trade and be independent. In October 1942, she went to England, where she visited American troops as well as the British forces. In August 1943, to boost the morale of the American troops stationed in the South Pacific, she travelled there and was most shaken by what she saw. Life After White House Franklin Roosevelt suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in April 1945 and died on 12 April. Eleanor now returned to Val-Kill, a property she herself had built. Although she now decided to lead a private life, it was not to be. In 1945, she was appointed a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly by President Truman, a position she held until 1953. From April 1946 to 1951, she was the chairperson of the preliminary United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

In 1961, she was reappointed to the United States delegation by President John F. Kennedy. She was later appointed to the National Advisory Committee of the Peace Corps and to chair the President's Commission on the Status of Women. Major Works As Chairperson of United Nations Commission on Human Rights, she played an important role in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It was adopted by the General Assembly on December 10, 1948 by a vote of 48 in favor, none against; though eight countries abstained from voting. Apart from her public work, she also found time to write several books about her life and experiences, including âThis Is My Storyâ (1937), âThis I Rememberâ (1949), âOn My Ownâ (1958) and âAutobiographyâ (1961). Besides, from 1936 until her death she wrote a syndicated column, âMy Dayâ, which appeared six days a week.

Awards & Achievements In 1968, in recognition of her work, the United Nation awarded her one of its first Human Rights Prizes posthumously. Personal Life & Legacy Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt had six children, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, James Roosevelt II, Franklin Roosevelt, Elliott Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr. and John Aspinwall Roosevelt II. In April 1960, Eleanor Roosevelt was diagnosed with aplastic anemia. In 1962, she had to be given steroids, which activated a dormant case of bone marrow tuberculosis. On November 7, 1962 she died from cardiac failure at her Manhattan home. On November 8, the United States flag was flown at half-mast in her honor throughout the world. Later in 1973, she was posthumously inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and in 1977 her stone cottage at Val-Kill was declared Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. In addition, the Eleanor Roosevelt Monument in Riverside Park, New York, Eleanor Roosevelt College in San Diego, and the Eleanor Roosevelt Awards for Human Rights, established in 1998 by the President Bill Clinton carry her legacy even today.

Translate this page to Spanish, French, Hindi, Portuguese Pictures of Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt is top U.S. first lady, survey says | Reuters Sat Feb 15, 2014 | 4:36 PM EST Eleanor Roosevelt is top U.S. first lady, survey says Eleanor Roosevelt was named the greatest first lady of the United States in a survey of historians released on Saturday, while Michelle Obama, in fifth place, edged out Hillary Clinton in sixth. Roosevelt, whose husband, Franklin, served as president from 1933 to 1945, has come up No. 1 each of the five times the survey has been conducted by Siena College Research Institute since 1982. In the top finishers after Roosevelt were Abigail Adams, Jacqueline Kennedy and Dolly Madison. Least impressive, according to the survey, was Jane Pierce, the wife of 14th U.S. president, Franklin Pierce. Although historians disagree over exactly when the title of first lady came into common usage, it has traditionally been given to a president's wife and is an unofficial, but potentially powerful, role.

Pollsters asked 242 historians and political scientists to rate 38 presidents' wives in 10 categories such as "courage," "integrity," "value to the country" and "accomplishments." Current first lady Michelle Obama scored particularly high in the categories of "being her own woman" and "value to the president." Her weakest area was seen to be in her capacity of "being the White House steward." Rounding out the top 10 after Clinton were Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Martha Washington and Rosalynn Carter. (Reporting By Jonathan Allen; editing by Gunna Dickson) ADVERTISEMENT Eleanor Roosevelt - First Lady of the World Eleanor Roosevelt - First Lady of the World Eleanor Roosevelt - First Lady of the World Reading Level Print Eleanor Roosevelt - First Lady of the World Feedback on Eleanor Roosevelt - First Lady of the World Eleanor Roosevelt - First Lady of the World By Jane Runyon 1 You may not recognize her name. You might have to ask your grandparents about her. Eleanor Roosevelt was the wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was President of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. Eleanor Roosevelt was called by many, including President Harry S.

Truman, the "First Lady of the World." She was beloved by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. She spent her life trying to improve human rights everywhere she went. 2 As a child, Eleanor may have wanted someone to come to her aid. Hers was not a life of leisure and happiness. Her parents were fairly wealthy, but it takes more than money for most people to be happy. 3 Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884. Her father's name was Elliott Roosevelt. He was the younger brother of Theodore Roosevelt. Her Uncle Teddy would become President of the United States a few years later. Eleanor was the name given to her to honor her father. Eleanor's mother was Anna Hall Roosevelt. Her family was well-to-do also. Eleanor had two younger brothers. Elliott Jr. lived a little less than four years. Hall Roosevelt was born in 1891. Eleanor's parents tried to keep up the appearance of wealth even when times were very hard.

Paragraphs 4 to 10: For the complete story with questions: click here for printable Weekly Reading Books Anna Eleanor Roosevelt | whitehouse.gov Air Force One Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the longest-serving First Lady throughout her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms in office (1933-1945). She was an American politician, diplomat, and activist who later served as a United Nations spokeswoman. A shy, awkward child, starved for recognition and love, Eleanor Roosevelt grew into a woman with great sensitivity to the underprivileged of all creeds, races, and nations. Her constant work to improve their lot made her one of the most loved--and for some years one of the most revered--women of her generation. She was born in New York City on October 11, 1884, daughter of lovely Anna Hall and Elliott Roosevelt, younger brother of Theodore. When her mother died in 1892, the children went to live with Grandmother Hall; her adored father died only two years later. Attending a distinguished school in England gave her, at 15, her first chance to develop self-confidence among other girls.

Tall, slender, graceful of figure but apprehensive at the thought of being a wallflower, she returned for a debut that she dreaded. In her circle of friends was a distant cousin, handsome young Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They became engaged in 1903 and were married in 1905, with her uncle the President giving the bride away. Within eleven years Eleanor bore six children; one son died in infancy. "I suppose I was fitting pretty well into the pattern of a fairly conventional, quiet, young society matron," she wrote later in her autobiography. In Albany, where Franklin served in the state Senate from 1910 to 1913, Eleanor started her long career as political helpmate. She gained a knowledge of Washington and its ways while he served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. When he was stricken with poliomyelitis in 1921, she tended him devotedly. She became active in the women's division of the State Democratic Committee to keep his interest in politics alive. From his successful campaign for governor in 1928 to the day of his death, she dedicated her life to his purposes.

She became eyes and ears for him, a trusted and tireless reporter. When Mrs. Roosevelt came to the White House in 1933, she understood social conditions better than any of her predecessors and she transformed the role of First Lady accordingly. She never shirked official entertaining; she greeted thousands with charming friendliness. She also broke precedent to hold press conferences, travel to all parts of the country, give lectures and radio broadcasts, and express her opinions candidly in a daily syndicated newspaper column, "My Day." This made her a tempting target for political enemies but her integrity, her graciousness, and her sincerity of purpose endeared her personally to many--from heads of state to servicemen she visited abroad during World War II. As she had written wistfully at 14: "...no matter how plain a woman may be if truth & loyalty are stamped upon her face all will be attracted to her...." After the President's death in 1945 she returned to a cottage at his Hyde Park estate; she told reporters: "the story is over." Within a year, however, she began her service as American spokesman in the United Nations.

She continued a vigorous career until her strength began to wane in 1962. She died in New York City that November, and was buried at Hyde Park beside her husband. The biographies of the First Ladies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The First Ladies of the United States of America,” by Allida Black. Copyright 2009 by the White House Historical Association. 1933 - 1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Anna Eleanor Roosevelt :: Mohave Museum - U.S. Presidents and the History of Arizona 1933 - 1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Anna Eleanor Roosevelt To link to this object, paste this link in email, IM or document To embed this object, paste this HTML in website 1933 - 1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Close Text Search... FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT 1933 - 1945 Arizona Timeline 1934 - Congress passes the Taylor Grazing Act that limits the rancher’s uncontrolled access to Federal lands.

1935 - Hoover Dam, located on the Colorado River, is dedicated on September 30 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 1936 - Arizona State Senate passes bill allowing Arizona women to serve on juries. 1942 - The federal government authorizes two Japanese relocation centers at Parker and Phoenix, Arizona. 1941 to 1945 - World War II brings economic boom to Arizona. Cotton, copper, cattle, farming and industry flourish. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the only president elected to serve four terms, was born near Hyde Park, New York, in 1882. He began his political career as a state senator and leader in the Democratic Party. He went on to become governor of New York. He took office as President in 1933. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt married her sixth cousin in 1905. She was born in New York City in 1884, the daughter of Elliott Roosevelt and niece of Theodore Roosevelt. The couple had five children. Even though stricken with Polio in 1921, it never hindered President Franklin Roosevelt.

He became governor of New York in 1928 and took the oath as President of the United States in 1933. He immediately started action to combat the economic depression the country was experiencing. The United States attempted to stay out of the war in Europe, but the Japanese sneak attack at Pearl Harbor in 1941caused the U. S. to join in the worldwide conflict. President Roosevelt played a dominant role in the meeting at Yalta, attempting to develop plans that would provide a lasting world peace. He died suddenly on April 12, 1945, before the second meeting, which was scheduled in San Francisco. Eleanor Roosevelt was a very active First Lady. She was personally involved in many of the issues of the times, including women's rights, youth movements, civil rights, and other issues. She had the first press conference ever held by a First Lady and she also wrote a daily column, which was syndicated by many newspapers. After the president's death, she continued her works and won respect throughout the world. She died in 1962. Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections. Eleanor Roosevelt Biography (Humanitarian/U.S.

First Lady) Died: 7 November 1962 (cancer) Birthplace: New York City, New York Best known as: First Lady of the United States, 1933-45 Name at birth: Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt was First Lady of the United States from 1933-45, during the four presidential terms of her husband, Franklin Delano Roosevelt . Roosevelt was both her birth name and her married name; she was the niece of former president Teddy Roosevelt , and was a distant cousin to her husband Franklin, whom she married in 1905. Eleanor was active in social work and Democratic politics even before her husband became president, and after his election she helped to shape the social programs known as the New Deal. She was a new kind of First Lady: she traveled the country independently of FDR, visited coal miners and factory workers, wrote newspaper columns and opinion pieces, visited soldiers overseas during World War II, and advocated for the poor. After FDR's death, she continued to lecture and write about racial equality, women's rights and world peace.

She was also an American delegate in the early days of the United Nations, a post she held from 1945-52. Extra credit: Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt were married on 17 March 1905 in New York City… They had five children who lived to adulthood: Anna (b. 1906), James (b. 1907), Elliott (b. 1910), Franklin Jr. (b. 1914), and John (b. 1916); another child, also named Franklin, was born in 1909 but died in infancy… Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1939 after the DAR refused to let African-American Marian Anderson sing at Independence Hall; the incident became a famous moment in the civil rights movement… Eleanor Roosevelt was a strong supporter of Adlai Stevenson in his losing 1952 and 1956 campaigns against Dwight Eisenhower … She wrote a syndicated newspaper column, My Day, from 1936 until her death in 1962. Copyright © 1998-2016 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.

Advertisement Eleanor Roosevelt - First Ladies - HISTORY.com Eleanor Roosevelt A+E Networks Introduction First lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), the U.S. president from 1933 to 1945, was a leader in her own right and involved in numerous humanitarian causes throughout her life. The niece of President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), Eleanor was born into a wealthy New York family. She married Franklin Roosevelt, her fifth cousin once removed, in 1905. By the 1920s, Roosevelt, who raised five children, was involved in Democratic Party politics and numerous social reform organizations. In the White House, she was one of the most active first ladies in history and worked for political, racial and social justice. After President Roosevelt’s death, Eleanor was a delegate to the United Nations and continued to serve as an advocate for a wide range of human rights issues. She remained active in Democratic causes and was a prolific writer until her death at age 78.

Google Eleanor Roosevelt’s Early Years Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884, in New York City. Her father, Elliott Roosevelt (1860-1894) was the younger brother of Theodore Roosevelt , and her mother, Anna Hall (1863-1892), was from a wealthy New York family. Roosevelt’s father was an alcoholic and her parents’ marriage was troubled. After her mother died of diphtheria in 1892 (her father died less than two years later), Roosevelt and her two younger brothers, Elliott Roosevelt Jr. (1889-1893) and Gracie Hall Roosevelt (1891-1941), lived with their grandmother, Mary Ludlow Hall (1843-1919), in Manhattan and Tivoli, New York. Did You Know? J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972), the longtime director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, considered Eleanor Roosevelt’s liberal views dangerous and believed she might be involved in communist activities. He ordered his agents to monitor Roosevelt and keep what became an extensive file on her.

Roosevelt, an awkward, serious child, was educated by private tutors until age 15, when she was sent to Allenswood Academy, a school for girls in England. She excelled under the mentorship of the school’s headmistress, Marie Souvestre (1830-1905), who promoted social responsibility and independence for young women. Roosevelt’s formal education ended at age 18, when she returned to New York City and made her social debut at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. She then became actively involved with social reform work, serving as a volunteer teacher for impoverished immigrant children at Manhattan’s Rivington Street Settlement House and joining the National Consumers’ League, whose mission was to end unsafe working conditions and labor practices in factories and other businesses. Eleanor Roosevelt’s Marriage and Family Life On March 17, 1905, 20-year-old Eleanor married Franklin Roosevelt, a 22-year-old Harvard University student and her fifth cousin once removed. The two had met as children and became reacquainted after Eleanor returned from school in England.

Their wedding took place at the home of one of Eleanor’s relatives on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and the bride was escorted down the aisle by then-President Theodore Roosevelt. Franklin and Eleanor had six children, five of whom survived to adulthood: Anna (1906-1975), James (1907-1991), Elliott (1910-1990), Franklin Jr. (1914-1988) and John (1916-1981). In 1910, Franklin Roosevelt began his political career when he was elected to the New York State Senate. Three years later, he was appointed assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy, a position he held until 1920, when he made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. vice presidency on a ticket headed by James Cox (1870-1957), an Ohio governor. In addition to raising her family during these years, Eleanor Roosevelt volunteered with the American Red Cross and in Navy hospitals during World War I (1914-1918).

In the 1920s, she became active in Democratic Party politics and was also involved with such activist organizations as the Women’s Union Trade League and the League of Women Voters. Additionally, she cofounded Val-Kill Industries, a nonprofit furniture factory in Hyde Park, New York (where the Roosevelt family estate, Springwood, was located), and taught American history and literature at the Todhunter School, a private Manhattan girls’ school. In 1921, Franklin Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Eleanor encouraged her husband’s return to politics, and in 1928 he was elected governor of New York. Six years later, Roosevelt was elected to the White House . Eleanor Roosevelt as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was initially reluctant to step into the role of first lady, fearful about losing her hard-won autonomy and knowing she would have to give up her Todhunter teaching job and other activities and organizations she cared about. However, after Franklin Roosevelt was sworn in as president in March 1933, Eleanor began to transform the conventional role of first lady from social hostess to that of a more visible, active participant in her husband’s administration.

The Roosevelts entered the White House in the midst of the Great Depression (which began in 1929 and lasted approximately a decade), and the president and Congress soon implemented a series of economic recovery initiatives known as the New Deal . As first lady, Eleanor traveled across the United States, acting as her husband’s eyes and ears and reporting back to him after she visited government institutions and programs and numerous other facilities. She was an early champion of civil rights for African Americans, as well as an advocate for women, American workers, the poor and young people. She also supported government-funded programs for artists and writers. Roosevelt encouraged her husband to appoint more women to federal positions, and she held hundreds of press conferences for female reporters only at a time when women were typically barred from White House press conferences. Additionally, Roosevelt wrote a syndicated newspaper column entitled “My Day” from December 1935 until shortly before her death in 1962. She used the column to share information about her activities and communicate her positions on a wide range of social and political issues. During World War II (1939-1945), Roosevelt advocated on behalf of European refugees who wanted to come to the United States.

She also promoted issues that were important to American troops, worked to boost soldiers’ morale, encouraged volunteerism on the home front and championed women employed in the defense industry. She also pushed for the continuation of New Deal programs during the war, against the wishes of some of her husband’s advisors. The Roosevelts had one of the most notable political partnerships in American history, as well as a complex personal relationship. Early on in their marriage, in 1918, Eleanor discovered her husband was having an affair with her social secretary, Lucy Mercer (1891-1948). Eleanor offered Franklin a divorce; however, he chose to stay in the marriage for various reasons, including the fact that divorce carried a social stigma and would have hurt his political career. Experts have suggested that Roosevelt’s infidelity prompted Eleanor to become increasingly independent and further devote herself to political and social causes. Although Franklin Roosevelt agreed never to see Mercer again, the two resumed contact, and she was with the president in Warm Springs, Georgia , when he died from a cerebral hemorrhage on April 12, 1945, at age 63. The previous November, Roosevelt had been elected to an unprecedented fourth term as president.

Beyond the White House After the president’s death, Eleanor Roosevelt returned to New York, splitting her time between her Val-Kill cottage (the former furniture factory was turned into a home) in Hyde Park and an apartment in New York City. There was speculation she would run for public office; instead, she chose to remain highly active as a private citizen. From 1946 to 1953, Roosevelt served as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations, where she oversaw the drafting and passage of the Universal Human Declaration of Rights. Roosevelt considered the document, which continues to serve as a model for how people and nations should treat each other, one of her most significant achievements. From 1961 until her death the following year, Roosevelt headed the first Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, at the request of President John Kennedy (1917-1963). She also served on the board of numerous organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) and the Advisory Council for the Peace Corps. Roosevelt remained involved in Democratic Party activities during her post-White House years, campaigning for candidates around the country.

Additionally, she hosted radio programs and a television news show, and continued to write her newspaper column and give lectures. Over the course of her life, Roosevelt wrote 27 books and more than 8,000 columns. Death Eleanor Roosevelt died at age 78 on November 7, 1962, in New York City, from aplastic anemia, tuberculosis and heart failure. Her funeral was attended by President Kennedy and former presidents Harry Truman (1884-1972) and Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969). She was buried next to her husband on the grounds of the Roosevelt estate in Hyde Park. Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault . Start your free trial today. Tags Eleanor Roosevelt Facts | KidsKonnect Worksheets / People /Eleanor Roosevelt Facts Eleanor Roosevelt Facts Eleanor Roosevelt was an American politician, diplomat, activist and the longest-serving First Lady of the United States. She was first lady from March 1933 to April 1945 during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms in office. For more facts on Eleanor Roosevelt see the list below.

Name Elliott Roosevelt and Anna Hall Roosevelt Marriage/Spouse Franklin Roosevelt, herfifth cousin once removed Children The Roosevelts had six children, five of whom survived infancy: Anna Eleanor, Jr., James, Franklin Delano, Jr., Elliott and John Aspinwall Education Tutored privately until 15 at Allenswood Academy, a private finishing school; in the 1920 Eleanor studied at The New School Career Author speaker, politician and activist for the New Deal coalition Reason for Fame Humanist profile: Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady, United States of America (1933-1945). - Free Online Library Humanist profile: Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady, United States of America (1933-1945). <a href=" Citations: APA style: Humanist profile: Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady, United States of America (1933-1945).. (n.d.) >The Free Library. (2014). Retrieved Jan 19 2017 from "I would not judge a character by his belief or unbelief.

I would judge his character by his deeds; and no matter what he said about his beliefs, his behavior would soon show whether he was a man of good character or bad." --Eleanor Roosevelt, from The Wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City on October 11, 1884, to parents Anna Hall and Elliot Roosevelt, younger brother of President Theodore Roosevelt. After her parents died when she was young, she was raised by her maternal grandmother. She attended Allensworth Academy in London where she met Marie Souvestre who, with her commitment to Humanism and social justice, was a significant influence on the young Eleanor. Later, after her 1905 marriage to distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, she actively supported her husband during his senate years and, ultimately, his presidency. Breaking from the traditional role as First Lady, however, she became an active leader who lent her support to the rights of blacks, women, and workers. After her husband's death in 1945 she continued her work as a political activist and social humanitarian. President Harry S. Truman appointed her to the first American delegation of the United Nations in 1946.

She later served as chair of the UN Human Rights Commission, overseeing the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document she regarded as her greatest accomplishment. Roosevelt also emerged as a leader of the Democratic Party, lending her support to various candidates, including Adlai Stevenson in 1956 and John F. Kennedy in 1960, who later appointed her as head of the President's Commission on the Status of Women. As a long-time friend of the New York Society for Ethical Culture and speaker at many of its meetings, she fully supported its summer youth program, the Encampment for Citizenship. This program, because of its unique humanistic empowerment of young people, came under attack by conservatives during the McCarthy era of the 1950s who claimed it was un-American and socialistic. But Roosevelt vehemently defended the program, lobbied supporters to speak out against its critics, and from 1946 to 1962 served as chair of its Board of Sponsors. Throughout her life she wrote numerous papers, autobiographies, and books, including a syndicated newspaper column, My Day, where she freely expressed her opinions.

She also praised Lloyd and Mary Morain's popular 1954 book, Humanism as the Next Step, mentioning the possibility of using it to assist with her social reform programs. Eleanor Roosevelt died November 7, 1962, in New York City at the age of seventy-eight. Today, her public statue is the only one in the city honoring a woman and the only one anywhere honoring a first lady. HUMANISM is a rational philosophy informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion. Affirming the dignity of each human being, it supports the maximization of individual liberty and opportunity consonant with social and planetary responsibility. It advocates the extension of participatory democracy and the expansion of the open society, standing for human rights and social justice. Free of supernaturalism, it recognizes human beings as a part of nature and holds that values--be they religious, ethical, social, or political--have their source in human nature, experience, and culture. Humanism thus derives the goals of life from human need and interest rather than from theological or ideological abstractions and asserts that humanity must take responsibility for its own destiny. American Humanist Association Franklin D. Roosevelt | whitehouse.gov Air Force One Franklin D.

Roosevelt Assuming the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression as our 32nd President (1933-1945), Franklin D. Roosevelt helped the American people regain faith in themselves. Assuming the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt helped the American people regain faith in themselves. He brought hope as he promised prompt, vigorous action, and asserted in his Inaugural Address, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Born in 1882 at Hyde Park, New York--now a national historic site--he attended Harvard University and Columbia Law School. On St. Patrick's Day, 1905, he married Eleanor Roosevelt. Following the example of his fifth cousin, President Theodore Roosevelt, whom he greatly admired, Franklin D. Roosevelt entered public service through politics, but as a Democrat. He won election to the New York Senate in 1910. President Wilson appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and he was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1920.

In the summer of 1921, when he was 39, disaster hit-he was stricken with poliomyelitis. Demonstrating indomitable courage, he fought to regain the use of his legs, particularly through swimming. At the 1924 Democratic Convention he dramatically appeared on crutches to nominate Alfred E. Smith as "the Happy Warrior." In 1928 Roosevelt became Governor of New York. He was elected President in November 1932, to the first of four terms. By March there were 13,000,000 unemployed, and almost every bank was closed. In his first "hundred days," he proposed, and Congress enacted, a sweeping program to bring recovery to business and agriculture, relief to the unemployed and to those in danger of losing farms and homes, and reform, especially through the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority. By 1935 the Nation had achieved some measure of recovery, but businessmen and bankers were turning more and more against Roosevelt's New Deal program. They feared his experiments, were appalled because he had taken the Nation off the gold standard and allowed deficits in the budget, and disliked the concessions to labor.

Roosevelt responded with a new program of reform: Social Security, heavier taxes on the wealthy, new controls over banks and public utilities, and an enormous work relief program for the unemployed. In 1936 he was re-elected by a top-heavy margin. Feeling he was armed with a popular mandate, he sought legislation to enlarge the Supreme Court, which had been invalidating key New Deal measures. Roosevelt lost the Supreme Court battle, but a revolution in constitutional law took place. Thereafter the Government could legally regulate the economy. Roosevelt had pledged the United States to the "good neighbor" policy, transforming the Monroe Doctrine from a unilateral American manifesto into arrangements for mutual action against aggressors. He also sought through neutrality legislation to keep the United States out of the war in Europe, yet at the same time to strengthen nations threatened or attacked. When France fell and England came under siege in 1940, he began to send Great Britain all possible aid short of actual military involvement. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt directed organization of the Nation's manpower and resources for global war.

Feeling that the future peace of the world would depend upon relations between the United States and Russia, he devoted much thought to the planning of a United Nations, in which, he hoped, international difficulties could be settled. As the war drew to a close, Roosevelt's health deteriorated, and on April 12, 1945, while at Warm Springs, Georgia, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage. The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey. Copyright 2006 by the White House Historical Association. For more information about President Roosevelt, please visit

Question: Who was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945 ?
Answer: ELEANOR ROOSEVELT