Hall Roosevelt

Gracie Hall Roosevelt was born on June 28, 1891, in Neuilly, France. He was the son of Elliott Roosevelt and Anna Rebecca Hall. His father, Elliott Roosevelt, died when Hall was approximately three years old, and his mother, Anna Rebecca Hall, passed away when he was about one and a half years old. Roosevelt was a nephew of President Theodore Roosevelt through his grandmother, Martha Bulloch. His sister was Eleanor Roosevelt, who became the First Lady of the United States. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, was his brother-in-law through his sister Eleanor. Roosevelt was also the uncle of U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Elliott Roosevelt.

His given names, Gracie and Hall, honor his maternal and paternal family names, respectively. His full name reflects his family's history: "Gracie" for his father's aunt Anna Bulloch and her husband James Gracie, and "Hall" for his mother's family. Following the death of his parents, Eleanor Roosevelt, his older sister, took on an almost maternal role, and they were raised by their grandmother at the estate in Tivoli, New York. Eleanor Roosevelt accompanied him to Groton School in 1907 when he enrolled, and she corresponded frequently during his schooling. Roosevelt earned a master's degree in engineering from Harvard University in 1913.

Regarding his career, Roosevelt was known primarily as an electrical engineer, though he also served as a banker, soldier, and municipal official. After graduating from Harvard, he worked as an assistant professor of engineering at a Harvard engineering camp in 1914. Later that year, he worked in the Yukon for the Canadian Klondike Company as an electrical engineer. In 1915, he began a 15-year career at General Electric, returning to it after his military service. Between 1929 and 1930, he served as executive vice president of Detroit United Railways and vice president of the American State Bank in Detroit. From 1932 to 1938, he was a consulting engineer in Chicago, Detroit, and New York, and in 1939, he became vice president of the Commercial Investment Trust, Inc., in New York City.

Roosevelt's military service commenced on July 14, 1917, when he enlisted in the Army Air Service alongside his cousin Quentin Roosevelt. He trained as a pilot and instructor at various fields, including Gerstner Field in Louisiana and Dorr and Carlstrom Fields in Florida. During his military career, he designed an early pursuit plane and trained numerous pilots.

In public service, Roosevelt was appointed by Detroit Mayor Frank Murphy. In 1930, he was chairman of the Detroit Unemployment Bureau and served as city comptroller starting in January 1931. During his tenure, he focused on obtaining credit from banks and working to assist the unemployed.

His personal life included two marriages. In 1912, Roosevelt married Margaret Richardson, with whom he had three children: Henry Parish Roosevelt (1915–1946), Daniel Stewart Roosevelt (1917–1939), and Eleanor Roosevelt (1919–2013). He sought a divorce from Margaret in 1925 with Eleanor Roosevelt's approval. Later, he married Dorothy Grant Kemp, with whom he had three children: Amelia "Amy" Roosevelt (1925–1992), Diana Roosevelt (1927–1998), and Janet Roosevelt (1930–2020). His struggles with alcoholism, which he shared with his father, affected his later years.

Hall Roosevelt's health declined, and he was unable to maintain employment towards the end of his life. He died on September 25, 1941, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 50. His funeral was held at the White House, and he was interred in the Hall family vault in St. Paul's Episcopal Churchyard in Tivoli, New York.