Clarence John Boettiger

Clarence John Boettiger was born on March 25, 1900, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Adam C. Boettiger, a banker, and Dora Ott. During his high school years, he began using his middle name, Clarence John Boettiger.

He initiated his career in journalism as a police reporter for the City News Bureau. In 1923, he joined the Chicago Tribune and was assigned to Washington, D.C., where he covered President Franklin D. Roosevelt during Roosevelt's 1932 presidential campaign. Boettiger's reporting period coincided with the Chicago Tribune's anti-Roosevelt stance.

Boettiger met Anna Roosevelt Dall, the daughter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, on President Roosevelt’s campaign train. Anna Roosevelt Dall was then separated from her husband, Curtis Bean Dall, and resided in the White House with her two children, Eleanor and Curtis. Clarence Boettiger and Anna Roosevelt Dall married on January 18, 1935, at the Roosevelts’ New York residence. The couple intended to lead a quiet life, and at the time, Boettiger had resigned from the Chicago Tribune and taken an employment position with the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America.

Subsequently, Boettiger’s career was notably linked to William Randolph Hearst’s newspaper enterprise. Before Hearst's dispute with President Roosevelt, he had employed Roosevelt's son Elliott Roosevelt and Boettiger. In November 1936, Boettiger was appointed publisher of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, with Anna serving as the editor of the paper’s women’s pages. Hearst granted them editorial independence to develop the newspaper, and the Boettigers resided in Seattle until after World War II. The couple had a son, John Roosevelt Boettiger, born on March 30, 1939.

In 1940, Boettiger publicly advocated for a third term for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, differing from some of Roosevelt's sons.

In early 1942, Boettiger expressed a desire to contribute to the wartime effort. He was appointed a captain in the U.S. Army after a leave of absence granted by Hearst. During his military service, he participated in the invasions of Sicily and Italy, served in military government roles, and received promotions to major in November 1943 and subsequently to lieutenant colonel. Boettiger was present at the Salerno landings and attended the Tehran Conference, where he contributed to drafting the Declaration of the Three Powers. He also flew the Turkish President to Cairo for diplomatic consultations. Alongside Anna Roosevelt, he drafted President Roosevelt’s "D-Day Prayer" in 1944 and was awarded the Legion of Merit on January 29, 1944, for his service.

After President Roosevelt’s death in April 1945, Boettiger resigned as publisher of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in June 1945, citing "irreconcilable differences." He and Anna Roosevelt sought new ventures in the newspaper industry, with Boettiger purchasing the Phoenix Shopping News in February 1946, which they aimed to develop into the Arizona Times in May 1947. This endeavor ended in financial loss, leading to bankruptcy and the sale of the paper in July 1948. Subsequently, Boettiger and Anna divorced in August 1949, citing mental cruelty and repeated humiliations.

Following the divorce, Boettiger married Virginia Daly Lunn on November 1, 1949, in The Hague. From July 1949, he worked with Theodor Swanson Associates, providing advisory services to the Dutch government on the Indonesian independence movement.

On October 31, 1950, Boettiger committed suicide by jumping from his hotel room in New York City. He had been suffering from depression. His remains were cremated, and he was identified by his brother Elliott Roosevelt. Boettiger's papers, including correspondence and diaries, are preserved at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York.

Boettiger authored "Jake Lingle: or Chicago on the Spot" in 1931, a book about the Chicago Tribune reporter Jake Lingle. His familial relationships placed him as the second husband of Anna Roosevelt and son-in-law to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.

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