Roosevelt, Eleanor (1884-1962)

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City, on October 11, 1884. The niece of President Theodore Roosevelt, she married her fifth cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt (“FDR”) on March 17, 1905. Between 1906 and 1916, the couple had six children.

From a shy woman, Roosevelt transformed herself to help her husband in his public service career and subsequent political career. She learned to make social calls and drive an automobile. In 1920, she started to travel with FDR on his campaign trails. After he was stricken with polio in 1921, she became more active in politics, advancing his political career and helping him to an unprecedented four terms as the president of the United States, from 1933 to 1945.

Following FDR's election as the president of the United States, on March 6, 1933, Roosevelt began to transform the role of the First Lady at the White House. She was the first wife of a president to hold all-female press conferences. She traveled to all parts of the country and during World War II traveled to the South Pacific to boost soldiers' morale. A prolific writer, she wrote several books and articles. She gave lectures and radio broadcasts and expressed her opinions candidly in a daily syndicated newspaper column, “My Day,” which she began in 1939 and continued until her death.

Roosevelt had always been active in social service work. At 18, she joined the Junior League and taught at a settlement house. Although following her marriage, she focused on her family, she later became active in the American Red Cross and volunteered in navy hospitals when the United States entered World War I. She also volunteered at the International Congress of Working Women in Washington, D.C.

After the death of FDR on April 12,1945, Roosevelt continued with her public service. In 1945, she was appointed to the U.S. delegation to the United Nations General Assembly. In the 8 years she was with the delegation, she was also the chair of the Human Rights Commission during the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. She also initiated the creation of Americans for Democratic Action, a group that had focused on domestic reform and the developing cold war.

In 1953, Roosevelt resigned from the U.S. delegation but was reappointed to the United Nations in 1961 by President John F Kennedy. He also appointed her as the chair of the President's Commission on the Status of Women. Over the years, Roosevelt became a stateswoman in her own right. She was a strong advocate of the role of women in the political process and also campaigned against U.S. segregation laws.

Roosevelt died in New York City on November 7, 1962, at the age of 78. She is buried alongside her husband at their estate at Hyde Park, New York. Roosevelt had lived according to her own motto that “life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.”

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