
Eleanor Roosevelt
first lady | diplomat
Eleanor Roosevelt was a New York society girl. A shy kid. An orphan. But, curiosity propelled her out of a sheltered childhood into global recognition as a leading lady of 20th century.
As the wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Eleanor redefined the role of first lady from polite, fashionable hostess to vocal advocate for social issues. She served in the White House during some of the most pivotal moments in US history ~ The Great Depression and WWII ~ using her post as a platform to champion women's, workers' and civil rights.
Upon leaving the White House, she was appointed as a delegate to the newly formed United Nations where she chaired the commission that penned its foundational Declaration of Human Rights. One of the most quoted women of all time, this influential leader + prolific writer never retired from her good work. For her tireless efforts to create peace and understanding among all peoples, Eleanor was affectionately dubbed, "First Lady to the World."
inspiring citizens | through more than 8,000 columns, 580 articles, 27 books + 10,000 letters {captured by the National Endowment for the Humanities in The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project}
diplomacy + advocacy | for peace, international relations, human rights, workers rights, civil rights + women's rights
being the longest-serving first lady in the US {4 terms | 1933 - 1945}
1933 | became the first First Lady to hold her own press conference
1935 | began writing her signature syndicated column, "My Day," which ran until her death in 1962
1946 | was appointed by President Harry Truman to the UN General Assembly where she served as the chair of the Human Rights Commission
from | to
shy society girl + orphan | one of history's best-loved leaders
born on
October 11, 1884
born in
New York City
birth name
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
~ the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt + fifth cousin of her husband, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ~
nickname | also known as
"Granny"
~ a not-very-nice nickname given to her by her mother due to her "mature" manner as a child ~
"First Lady to the World"
citizen of
The United States of America
daughter of
Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt + Anna Rebecca Hall
~ both died by the time Eleanor was 10 ~
sister of
2 brothers | Elliott, Jr. + Hall Roosevelt
~ Elliott died when he was four years old
1 half brother | Elliott Roosevelt Mann
grew up in
Tivoli, New York
~ raised by her grandmother, Valentine Hall ~
educated at | studied with
private tutors
Allenswood
~ a girls' boarding school in England ~
married to
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
~ politician who served as the Governor of New York + US President ~
~ married on March 17, 1905 {they had a complicated relationship}
mother of
1 daughter | Anna Eleanor
5 sons | James, Franklin Delano Jr {who died of influenza shortly after his birth}, Elliott, Franklin Jr, and John
grandmother of
29 grandchildren
advocate for
The New Deal and Democratic politics
Junior League
Settlement Houses
~ taught at the Rivington Street Settlement House ~
American Red Cross
Val-Kill Industries
~ a nonprofit furniture maker in New York ~
League of Women Voters
Women's Trade Union League
United Nations
influenced by
Mademoiselle Marie Souvestre
~ the headmistress at Allenswood ~
worked alongside
Mary McLeod Bethune
Marian Anderson
Amelia Earhart
died on
November 7, 1962
~ in New York City from disseminated tuberculosis and heart failure ~
"As I grow older I realize that the only pleasure I have in anything is to share it with someone else."
What I Hope to Leave Behind | april 1933
"Memorial Day should never be given up, but as the years go by we hope that people will be honored for their lives and not for their deaths."
My Day | may 1938
"I wish that we could use Decoration Day {Memorial Day} throughout this country, not only as a patriotic celebration to honor the deeds of the past, but as a day on which we remind our young people of their obligation to the future. On them lies the necessity to change the thinking of the future so that we will prevent graves all over the world."
My Day | may 1938
"You who are going to build a new world must go forward with courage."
Mrs. Roosevelt's talk at Camp Andrea | august 1940
"On this Thanksgiving Day, my wish for all of you...is that life may give you a chance to be grateful for what you receive because you love the giver, and that you may have the joy of giving of yourself to those whom you may love."
My Day | november 1940
"I am grateful for health and strength, the love of family and friends, for the power to enjoy so many things."
My Day | november 1940
"I know that we will be the sufferers if we let great wrongs occur without exerting ourselves to correct them."
My Day | august 1943
"The important thing is neither your nationality nor the religion you professed, but how your faith translated itself in your life."
My Day | september 1943
"Memorial Day . . . should be a day of consecration to the fulfillment of those things for which our men died."
My Day | may 1944
"Remembrance of our boys is not the really great significance of Memorial Day. If the great sacrifices of youth are to bear fruit, this day must remind us primarily of our duty to the living. It should be a day of consecration to the fulfillment of those things for which our men died."
My Day | may 1944
"A woman will always have to be better than a man in any job she undertakes."
My Day | november 1945
"When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?"
My Day | february 1946
"In numbers there is strength, and we in America must help the women of the world."
My Day | october 1946
"I cannot believe that war is the best solution. No one won the last war, and no one will win the next war."
march 1948
"Whatever else Memorial Day may be, it is a day for thought, for remembering those who have loved their country and loved its people. What they loved was the life that they lived, and perhaps we can remember them best in promoting and preserving life and the standards which they held and craved for all future citizens."
My Day | may 1948
"It isn't enough to talk of peace. One must believe it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it."
Voice of America | november 1951
"The sooner we begin to understand that nowhere in the world can we escape the results of conditions anywhere else in the world—the sooner will we be bringing about a time when Thanksgiving Day will be a day of world celebration."
My Day | november 1951
"It is good, I think, to have one day on which to count our blessings and to rejoice in the good things that have come to our land and to us as citizens of this land."
My Day | november 1955
"It is the living that we do that still matters and will matter in what we make of our country."
My Day | july 1957
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face."
You Learn by Living | january 1960
"You will feel that you are no longer clothing yourself, you are dressing a public monument."
Redbook | november 1960
"Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life."
january 1961
"We make our own history. The course of history is directed by the choices we make and our choices grow out of the ideas, the beliefs, the values, the dreams of the people."
You Learn By Living | january 1963
curated with care by Pauline Weger
Eleanor's grandchildren
Eleanor went from first lady of New York to first lady of the US in 1933, a position she held for 12 years. The Roosevelts had one of the largest first families today ~ with 6 children + 29 grandchildren. Here, the next generation gathers with their grandparent in the Oval Office.
FDR Presidential Library
© all rights reserved
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt
Starting in 1936, Eleanor wrote a popular newspaper column to share her personal insights about the current events + social issues of the day with the public. Never one to shy away from controversial topics, Eleanor spoke with her characteristic wit, insight + compassion about everything from women's rights to racial discrimination to post-WWII reconciliation. Her influential editorials ran 6 days a week all the way up until the year of her death in 1962.
the Eleanor Roosevelt papers project
© all rights reserved
Eleanor during WWII
Eleanor served as the first lady of the US during the nation's toughest period in the 20th century ~ including the Great Depression + World War II. Here, she visits with troops in the South Pacific in 1943.
FDR Presidential Library
CC BY
Eleanor, the UN delegate
The US's longest serving first lady was an early advocate for the United Nations + became one of its very first delegates in 1945. As chair of the UN's Human Rights Commission, she oversaw the creation of the organization's foundation document, the Declaration of Human Rights. Having served as first lady throughout WWII, Eleanor was a keen advocate for world peace who frequently asked US citizens to recognize their responsibility to the global community.
FDR Presidential Library
CC BY