Photo: FDR Presidential Library & Museum, CC BY 2.0

Eleanor Roosevelt

1884 – 1962 · died at about 78^[1][2]

Activism & Social Change

Fun Facts About Eleanor Roosevelt

• Eleanor Roosevelt once sneaked out of the White House with her friend Amelia Earhart to go to a party, and after flying with Earhart she got a student pilot permit, though she never learned to fly.^[1][3][4]
• Her uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt, gave the bride away at her 1905 wedding to Franklin and quipped, "It is a good thing to keep the name in the family."^{[1][5][6][7][8]}
• Roosevelt held 348 press conferences as First Lady and banned male reporters from them, forcing newspapers to keep women reporters on staff.^[1]
• Visiting the Tuskegee flight school, Roosevelt took a half-hour flight with Black instructor C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson and announced, "Well, you can fly all right."^[1]
• Because she was such a serious child, Roosevelt's own mother nicknamed her "Granny".^[1]
• At age two, Roosevelt was lowered into a lifeboat when her ship, the SS Britannic, collided with another liner, and she was afraid of ships and the sea all her life.^[1]
• Eleanor Roosevelt was alive at the same time as Victor Hugo — their lives overlapped for 1 year (1884–1885).^{[1][2][9][10]}
• Eleanor Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman were both born in 1884.^{[1][2][11][12]}

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms as president from 1933 to 1945. Through her travels, public engagement, and advocacy, she largely redefined the role. Widowed in 1945, she served as a United States delegate to the United Nations General Assembly from 1945 to 1952, and took a leading role in designing the text and gaining international support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1948, she was given a standing ovation by the assembly upon their adoption of the declaration. President Harry S. Truman called her the "First Lady of the World" in tribute to her human rights achievements.^[1]

Contemporaries

Winston Churchill

78 yr overlap

Pablo Picasso

78 yr overlap

Igor Stravinsky

78 yr overlap

Coco Chanel

78 yr overlap

Lise Meitner

78 yr overlap

Helen Keller

78 yr overlap

Albert Schweitzer

78 yr overlap

Harry S. Truman

78 yr overlap

Bertrand Russell

78 yr overlap

Carl Jung

77 yr overlap

Niels Bohr

77 yr overlap

Georgia O'Keeffe

75 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Eleanor Roosevelt

When was Eleanor Roosevelt born?

Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884, and died on November 7, 1962.

How old was Eleanor Roosevelt at death?

Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884, and died on November 7, 1962, at age 78.

What was Eleanor Roosevelt known for?

Eleanor Roosevelt was known for: First Lady, UN delegate, human rights champion. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms as president from 1933 to 1945. Through her travels, public engagement, and advocacy, she largely redefined the role. Widowed in 1945, she served as a United States delegate to the United Nations General Assembly from 1945 to 1952, and took a leading role in designing the text and gaining international support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1948, she was given a standing ovation by the assembly upon their adoption of the declaration. President Harry S. Truman called her the "First Lady of the World" in tribute to her human rights achievements.

Who was alive at the same time as Eleanor Roosevelt?

Eleanor Roosevelt's closest contemporary was Winston Churchill. Their lives overlapped for 78 years.