Eleanor ROOSEVELT

Roosevelt, Eleanor, (1884-1962), the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, became a distinguished public figure in her own right. She was one of the most active first ladies in American history. Roosevelt, a niece of President Theodore Roosevelt, won fame for her humanitarian work and became a role model for women in politics and public affairs. Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City. She was christened Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, but her family called her Eleanor, and she rarely used her real first name. In 1905, she married Franklin D. Roosevelt, a distant cousin (fifth cousin, once removed). The couple had six children. They were Anna Eleanor (1906-1975), James (1907-1991), Franklin Delano, Jr. (died in infancy, 1909), Elliott (1910-1990), Franklin Delano, Jr. (1914-1988), and John (1916-1981). James and Franklin, Jr., both served in the United States House of Representatives. Eleanor Roosevelt began to work politically on behalf of her husband after polio crippled him in 1921. During Franklin Roosevelt's terms as governor of New York and, later, as president, she frequently made fact-finding trips for him. While first lady, she traveled nationwide on lecture tours, held 350 press conferences for women reporters only, and wrote a daily newspaper column and many articles for magazines. She also worked with young people and the underprivileged, and fought for equal rights for minority groups. From 1945 to 1951, Roosevelt was a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. In 1946, she was elected chairman of the UN's Human Rights Commission, part of the Economic and Social Council. She helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1961, she returned to the General Assembly. Later that year, President John F. Kennedy appointed her head of the Commission on the Status of Women. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote several books. They include This Is My Story (1937), This I Remember (1950), On My Own (1958), and Tomorrow Is Now (published in 1963, after her death). Contributor: Maurine H. Beasley, Ph.D., Professor of Journalism, University of Maryland. World Book 2005

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