Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884, in New York City, to a wealthy and prominent family. She was the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt and the cousin of his daughter Alice. She lost both her parents and one of her brothers by the age of 10, and was raised by her grandmother. She attended a boarding school in England, where she developed a sense of independence and social awareness. She married Franklin D. Roosevelt, her fifth cousin once removed, in 1905, and supported his political career as he rose from state senator to assistant secretary of the navy to governor of New York. They had six children, one of whom died in infancy. Eleanor discovered Franklin's affair with her social secretary Lucy Mercer in 1918, and their marriage became more of a political partnership than a romantic one. Eleanor became active in the women's division of the Democratic Party and the social reform movements of the Progressive Era. She also taught at a school for underprivileged children and worked with the American Red Cross. When Franklin became president in 1933, Eleanor transformed the role of the first lady. She held press conferences, wrote a syndicated column, traveled across the country and abroad, and spoke out on various issues, such as civil rights, women's rights, labor rights, and human rights. She was a vocal supporter of the New Deal programs and a champion of the marginalized and oppressed. She also served as a liaison between the president and the public, especially during World War II. She visited troops, factories, hospitals, and refugee camps, and reported back to her husband and the nation. She also advocated for the creation of the United Nations and became a delegate to the UN General Assembly in 1945. She played a key role in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN in 1948. She was widely respected and admired for her humanitarian work, and was called "the First Lady of the World" by President Harry Truman. After Franklin's death in 1945, Eleanor continued her public service and activism. She served as the chair of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women under President John F. Kennedy, and supported the civil rights movement, the peace movement, and the feminist movement. She also wrote several books and articles, and remained a popular and influential figure until her death. She died of tuberculosis on November 7, 1962, in New York City, at the age of 78. She was buried next to her husband at their estate in Hyde Park, New York. She is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential women of the 20th century, and as one of the greatest first ladies in American history.