Eleanor Roosevelt was born October 11, 1884 in New York City, New York.  She was a politician, diplomat, and activist.  The longest serving first lady, her term ran from March 1933, to April 1945.

 

Eleanor had a sad childhood, both of her parents passed away and she went to live with her grandmother.  She attended Allenwood Academy in London at 15, and was influenced greatly by her headmistress Marie Souvestre.  After she returned home she married Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1905.

 

Upon discovering an affair her husband had with Lucy Mercer, Eleanor decided to seek fullfillment with a public life of her own.  After persuading her husband to remain in politics following his partial paralysis from polio, she began giving speeches and campaigning in his place.  She regularly made apperances on his behalf.

 

She was respected as First Lady, but controversial.  She was the first spouse of a president to write a syndicated newspaper column, hold press conferences, and speak at a national convention.  Sometimes she publicly disagreed with her husband.  She fought for women's rights, civil rights of African Americans and Asian Americans, and the rights of World War II refugees.

 

Following her husband's death she stayed involved in politics.   She pressured the US to join the United Nations and became one of the first delegates.  She served as the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights.  At the time of her death she was regarded as "one of the most esteemed women in the world."

 

Eleanor was diagnosed with aplastic anemia in 1960.  She died at her home in 1962.  John F. Kennedy and former presidents Truman and Eisenhower attended her funeral.  She is buried next to Franklin at the family compound in Hyde Park, New York.