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Quick Facts
- NAME: Franklin D. Roosevelt
- OCCUPATION: U.S. President
- BIRTH DATE: January 30, 1882
- DEATH DATE: April 12, 1945
- EDUCATION: Groton Preparatory School, Harvard University, Columbia University Law School
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Hyde Park, New York
- PLACE OF DEATH: Warm Springs, Georgia
- Full Name: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- AKA: Franklin Roosevelt
- AKA: Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Nickname: FDR
Best Known For
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only U.S. president to be elected four times. He led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II.
Videos see all videos
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Franklin D. Roosevelt – A Day That Will Live in Infamy (1:44)
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Franklin D. Roosevelt – A Day That Will Live in Infamy
After many efforts to keep America out of World War II, FDR was faced with a dark day that brought America into the war.
Franklin D. Roosevelt – New Deal Critics
Many vocal critics began stepping forward as Roosevelt started to enact the programs through his New Deal.
Franklin D. Roosevelt – Social Security
In response to elder citizens having been hit hardest by the Great Depression, FDR enacted the Social Security bill.
Franklin D. Roosevelt – Roosevelt vs. Hoover
A series of speeches across the campaign trail when Franklin D. Roosevelt challenged Herbert Hoover for the Presidency.
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Play NowFranklin D. Roosevelt. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 06:27, May 24, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/franklin-d-roosevelt-9463381.
Franklin D. Roosevelt. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/franklin-d-roosevelt-9463381 [Accessed 24 May 2013].
"Franklin D. Roosevelt." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 24 2013, 06:27 http://www.biography.com/people/franklin-d-roosevelt-9463381.
"Franklin D. Roosevelt," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/franklin-d-roosevelt-9463381 [accessed May 24, 2013].
"Franklin D. Roosevelt," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/franklin-d-roosevelt-9463381 (accessed May 24, 2013).
Franklin D. Roosevelt [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 24] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/franklin-d-roosevelt-9463381.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, http://www.biography.com/people/franklin-d-roosevelt-9463381 (last visited May 24, 2013).
Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/franklin-d-roosevelt-9463381. Accessed May 24, 2013.
Synopsis
Born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio in 1921. He became the 32nd U.S. president in 1933, and was the only president to be elected four times. Roosevelt led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II, and greatly expanded the powers of the federal government through a series of programs and reforms known as the New Deal. Roosevelt died in Georgia in 1945.
Contents
Quotes
"There is nothing I love as much as a good fight."
Early Life
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, into a wealthy family. The Roosevelts had been prominent for several generations, having made their fortune in real estate and trade. Franklin was the only child of James Roosevelt and Sara Ann Delano Roosevelt. The family lived at Springwood, their estate in the Hudson River Valley in New York State. While growing up, Franklin Roosevelt was surrounded by privilege and a sense of self-importance. He was educated by tutors and governesses until age 14, and the entire household revolved around him, with his mother being the dominant figure in his life, even into adulthood. His upbringing was so unlike the common people who he would later champion.
In 1896, Franklin Roosevelt attended Groton School for boys, a prestigious Episcopal preparatory school in Massachusetts. The experience was a difficult one for him, as he did not fit in with the other students. Groton men excelled in athletics and Roosevelt did not. He strived to please the adults and took to heart the teachings of Groton's headmaster, Endicott Peabody, who urged students to help the less fortunate through public service.
After graduating from Groton in 1900, Franklin Roosevelt entered Harvard University, determined to make something of himself. Though only a C student, he was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, editor of the Harvard Crimson newspaper and received his degree in only three years. However, the general consensus was that he was underwhelming and average. During his last year at Harvard, he became engaged to Eleanor Roosevelt, his fifth cousin. She was the niece of Franklin's idol, Theodore Roosevelt. They married on March 17, 1905.
Franklin studied law at Columbia University Law School and passed the bar exam in 1907, though he didn't receive a degree. For the next three years, he practiced corporate law in New York, living the typical upper-class life. But he found law practice boring and restrictive. He set his sights on greater accomplishments.
Political Beginnings
In 1910, at age 28, Roosevelt was invited to run for the New York state senate. Breaking from family tradition, he ran as a Democrat in a district that had voted Republican for the past 32 years. He campaigned hard and won the election with the help of his name and a Democratic landslide. As a state senator, Roosevelt opposed elements of the Democratic political machine in New York. This won him the ire of party leaders, but gained him national notoriety and valuable experience in political tactics and intrigue.
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Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt
View groupEleanor Roosevelt began courting her father's fifth cousin, 20-year-old Harvard student Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in 1903. The couple got engaged in November, married on St. Patrick's Day 1905, and produced six children, five of whom survived infancy. In 1921, while vacationing in Campobello Island, New Brunswick, FDR contracted an illness that resulted in permanent paralysis of his legs. Another blow followed: FDR's affair with Eleanor's social secretary, Lucy Mercer. The marriage endured, however, and as President and First Lady, they used their influence to promote New Deal policies and advocate for civil rights.
Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt 2 people in this group
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Failed Assassinations
View groupPolitical assassinations are an all-too-common occurrence, and they often become major landmark events. Luckily, many attempts to murder a political figure don't succeed, and a life is spared. Even those events, though, become important events in our history. In one of the most famous incidents, John Hinckley, Jr. tried to assassinate President Reagan in 1981.The president suffered a puntured lung, but survived the shooting. Here's a look at some of the most famous failed assassination attempts.
Failed Assassinations 10 people in this group
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Who Is On Your Money 17 people in this group
