Eleanor Roosevelt, (born Oct. 11, 1884, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Nov. 7, 1962, New York City), U.S. first lady and diplomat. The niece of Theodore Roosevelt, she married her distant cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1905. She raised their five children and became active in politics after her husband’s polio attack (1921). As first lady (1933–45), she traveled around the U.S. to report on living conditions and public opinion for her husband, and she supported humanitarian causes such as child welfare, equal rights, and social reforms. During World War II, she traveled in Britain and the South Pacific as well as to U.S. military bases to help raise morale. She wrote the syndicated column “My Day,” as well as several books. After her husband’s death, she was appointed a delegate to the UN (1945, 1949–52, 1961), whose founding she had strongly advocated. As chair of its Commission on Human Rights (1946–51), she helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). In the 1950s she traveled around the world for the UN and remained active in the Democratic Party.
Eleanor Roosevelt on Franklin Delano Roosevelt Article
Eleanor Roosevelt summary
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Eleanor Roosevelt on Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Democratic Party Summary
Democratic Party, in the United States, one of the two major political parties, the other being the Republican Party. The Democratic Party has changed significantly during its more than two centuries of existence. During the 19th century the party supported or tolerated slavery, and it opposed
first lady Summary
First lady, wife of the president of the United States. Although the first lady’s role has never been codified or officially defined, she figures prominently in the political and social life of the nation. Representative of her husband on official and ceremonial occasions both at home and abroad,
Franklin D. Roosevelt Summary
Franklin D. Roosevelt 32nd president of the United States (1933–45). The only president elected to the office four times, Roosevelt led the United States through two of the greatest crises of the 20th century: the Great Depression and World War II. In so doing, he greatly expanded the powers of the
government Summary
Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not