Eleanor Roosevelt

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884, in Manhattan, New York City, to Anna Rebecca Hall and Elliott Roosevelt. She was a member of the prominent Roosevelt and Livingston families and was a niece of President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt’s early life was marked by significant personal loss; her mother died of diphtheria in 1892, her brother Elliott Jr. died of the same disease in 1893, and her father died in 1894 after a fall related to a seizure. These events contributed to her lifelong susceptibility to depression.

In her childhood, Roosevelt was raised in the household of her maternal grandmother, Mary Livingston Ludlow Hall, in Tivoli, New York. She was privately tutored and sent at age 15 to Allenswood Academy, a finishing school in Wimbledon, London, where Marie Souvestre served as headmistress. Roosevelt learned to speak French fluently and gained independence of thought during her time at Allenswood.

She completed her formal education in 1902 and returned to the United States. Roosevelt was presented at a debutante ball at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in December 1902 and participated actively in social and charitable activities, including the New York Junior League. She was a devout Episcopalian and regularly attended church services, addressing issues of faith publicly in her writings.

In 1905, Roosevelt married Franklin Delano Roosevelt, her fifth cousin once removed. The couple had six children between 1906 and 1916—Evelyn, Anna, James, Franklin Jr., Elliott, and John. One child, a daughter named Anna, died in infancy. Roosevelt's marriage faced difficulties, notably after her discovery of her husband's extramarital affair with her social secretary, Lucy Mercer, in 1918. The affair was eventually terminated due to mediation by Roosevelt’s mother-in-law, Sara Roosevelt.

During her early married years, Roosevelt engaged in social activism, joining the Women's Trade Union League and becoming involved in the Democratic Party in New York. She supported her husband during his political career, including his campaign for governor of New York in 1928. Franklin Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio in 1921, and Eleanor played a role in encouraging his public return to politics.

As First Lady from 1933 to 1945, during Franklin D. Roosevelt's four presidential terms, Roosevelt redefined the role through extensive public engagement. She held regular press conferences, authored newspaper and magazine columns, hosted a weekly radio show, and spoke at the Democratic National Convention. Roosevelt was an advocate for civil rights, expanded roles for women, and supported refugees during World War II. She launched the community at Arthurdale, West Virginia, intended to aid families of unemployed miners, though it was later regarded as unsuccessful.

Following Franklin D. Roosevelt's death in 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt became an ambassador for human rights, serving as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly from 1945 to 1952. She was instrumental in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, chairing the UN Commission on Human Rights. In this capacity, she gained international recognition and was acknowledged for her contributions to human rights efforts, including receiving a standing ovation in 1948 upon the declaration’s adoption.

Roosevelt also chaired the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women during the Kennedy administration. She remained a highly respected figure, often ranked among the most admired women in the United States and worldwide, and was regarded as one of the greatest American First Ladies by historians. She died on November 7, 1962.