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101-461: The name was popular in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s, peaking at rank 25 in 1920. It declined below 600 by the 1970s but has again risen in popularity. It ranked 32nd in the 2010s. It ranked 16th on the popularity chart for names given to newborn girls in the United States in 2022. Eleanor Roosevelt , the longest-serving first lady of the U.S., was probably the most famous bearer of

202-464: A "backdrop for Bertie ." Eleanor's distress at these precedents was severe enough that Hickok subtitled her biography of Roosevelt "Reluctant First Lady". With support from Howe and Hickok, Roosevelt set out to redefine the position. According to her biographer Blanche Wiesen Cook , she became "the most controversial First Lady in United States history" in the process. Despite criticism of them both, with her husband's strong support she continued with

303-444: A Latinization of an unknown Germanic name. Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most powerful woman in 12th century Europe, was certainly the reason for the name's later popularity. However, the name's origin with her, and the explanation of alia Aenor is uncertain; there are records of possible bearers of the name Alienor earlier in the 12th, or even in the 11th or 10th centuries, but the records of these women post-date Eleanor of Aquitaine, at

404-469: A close relationship with Eleanor and F.D.R, and Eleanor was instrumental in successfully advocating for David Gray's appointment as United States minister to Ireland ; a post he held during World War II from 1940 to 1947. In the 1930s, Roosevelt had a very close relationship with aviator Amelia Earhart (1897–1937). One time, the two snuck out from the White House and went to a party dressed up for

505-515: A cousin of Eleanor's—encouraged the affair, inviting Mercer and Franklin to dinner together several times. She later commented, "He deserved a good time. ... He was married to Eleanor." In 1918, Franklin went on a trip to Europe to inspect naval facilities for the war. When he returned in September, sick with pneumonia in both lungs, Eleanor discovered a packet of love letters from Mercer in his suitcase. Eleanor subsequently offered her husband

606-409: A divorce, and only a month later, on Christmas Day 1947, her mother Minnie died at age 84. Just seven months later, Rutherfurd herself died from leukemia , aged 57, on July 31, 1948, just 3 + 1 ⁄ 4 years after Roosevelt, having destroyed almost all of her correspondence with the president. Following Roosevelt's death, his administration concealed Rutherfurd's presence at his death, fearing

707-399: A divorce, the couple remained married. Their union from that point on was more of a political partnership. Disillusioned, Roosevelt again became active in public life, and focused increasingly on her social work rather than her role as a wife. In August 1921, the family was vacationing at Campobello Island , New Brunswick , Canada, when Franklin was diagnosed with a paralytic illness , at

808-459: A divorce. Franklin's mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt , was adamantly against the idea of divorce, however, as it would mark the end of Franklin's political career; she stated that she would cut him off from the family fortune if he chose separation. Historians have also debated whether, as a Roman Catholic, Mercer would have been willing to marry a divorced man. Eleanor Roosevelt biographer Blanche Wiesen Cook expressed skepticism that this had been

909-506: A failure. She advocated for expanded roles for women in the workplace, the civil rights of African Americans and Asian Americans , and the rights of World War II refugees. Following her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt remained active in politics for the remaining 17 years of her life. She pressed the United States to join and support the United Nations and became its first delegate to the committee on Human Rights. She served as

1010-462: A giant teapot that was made to emit simulated steam (to remind voters of Theodore's supposed, but later disproved, connections to the scandal), and countered his speeches with those of her own, calling him immature. She would later decry these methods, admitting that they were below her dignity but saying that they had been contrived by Democratic Party "dirty tricksters." Theodore was defeated by 105,000 votes, and he never forgave her. By 1928, Roosevelt

1111-460: A great influence on her later thinking, was also a lesbian. Faber published some of Roosevelt and Hickok's correspondence in 1980, but concluded that the lovestruck phrasing was simply an "unusually belated schoolgirl crush" and warned historians not to be misled. Researcher Leila J. Rupp criticized Faber's argument, calling her book "a case study in homophobia" and arguing that Faber unwittingly presented "page after page of evidence that delineates

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1212-469: A heavy travel schedule in her twelve years in the White House, frequently making personal appearances at labor meetings to assure Depression-era workers that the White House was mindful of their plight. In one famous cartoon of the time from The New Yorker magazine (June 3, 1933), satirizing a visit she had made to a mine, an astonished coal miner, peering down a dark tunnel, says to a co-worker, "For gosh sakes, here comes Mrs. Roosevelt!" In early 1933,

1313-461: A highly personal book about his parents called The Roosevelts of Hyde Park: An Untold Story , in which he revealed details about the sexual lives of his parents, including his father's relationships with mistress Lucy Mercer and secretary Marguerite ("Missy") LeHand , as well as graphic details surrounding the illness that crippled his father. Published in 1973, the biography also contains valuable insights into FDR's run for vice president, his rise to

1414-571: 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 later called her the "First Lady of the World" in tribute to her human rights achievements. Roosevelt was a member of the prominent and wealthy American Roosevelt and Livingston families and

1515-478: A long illness. Rutherfurd met more frequently with Roosevelt in the months that followed. She arranged for her friend Elizabeth Shoumatoff (1888–1980), a well-known artist, to paint Roosevelt's portrait. In June 1944, Roosevelt requested that his daughter Anna , who was then managing some White House social functions and acting as hostess, help him arrange to meet Rutherfurd without Eleanor's knowledge. Aware of Rutherfurd's role in her parents' early marriage, Anna

1616-451: A mother towards Hall, and it was a request she made good upon for the rest of Hall's life. Roosevelt doted on Hall, and when he enrolled at Groton School in 1907, she accompanied him as a chaperone. While he was attending Groton, she wrote him almost daily, but always felt a touch of guilt that Hall had not had a fuller childhood. She took pleasure in Hall's brilliant performance at school, and

1717-786: A niece of President Theodore Roosevelt . She had an unhappy childhood, having suffered the deaths of both parents and one of her brothers at a young age. At 15, she attended Allenswood Boarding Academy in London and was deeply influenced by its founder and director Marie Souvestre . Returning to the U.S., she married her fifth cousin once removed, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in 1905. Between 1906 and 1916 she gave birth to six children, one of whom died in infancy. The Roosevelts' marriage became complicated after Eleanor discovered her husband's affair with her social secretary, Lucy Mercer , in 1918. Due to mediation by her mother-in-law, Sara , who

1818-491: A number of Jews, including Elinor and Henry Morgenthau Jr. , Bernard Baruch , Edith and Herbert H. Lehman , and Rose Schneiderman . In the 1930s, once she had become first lady, she began speaking out against the growing antisemitism in Europe and the United States and advocating for allowing more Jewish refugees into the United States. However, according to historian Michelle Mart, while serving as first lady, "Although it

1919-420: A picnic at Val-Kill for delinquent boys, her granddaughter Eleanor Roosevelt Seagraves assisted her. She was close to her grandmother throughout her life. Seagraves concentrated her career as an educator and librarian on keeping alive many of the causes Roosevelt began and supported. In 1924, Eleanor campaigned for Democrat Alfred E. Smith in his successful re-election bid as governor of New York State against

2020-704: A picnic on the White House lawn where they were addressed by Franklin from the South Portico. The President admonished them to condemn not merely the Nazi regime but all dictatorships . The President was reportedly booed by the group. Afterwards, many of the same youth picketed the White House as representatives of the American Peace Mobilization . Among them was Joseph Cadden, one of Roosevelt's overnight boarders. Later in 1940, despite Roosevelt's publication of her reasons "Why I still believe in

2121-532: A reporter, Hickok soon resigned her position with the AP to be closer to Roosevelt, who secured her a job as an investigator for a New Deal program. There is considerable debate about whether or not Roosevelt had a sexual relationship with Hickok. It was known in the White House press corps at the time that Hickok was a lesbian. Scholars, including Lillian Faderman and Hazel Rowley , have asserted that there

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2222-530: A response to Elliott's book. A sequel to An Untold Story with James Brough, published in 1975 and titled A Rendezvous With Destiny , carried the Roosevelt saga to the end of World War II. Mother R.: Eleanor Roosevelt's Untold Story , also with Brough, was published in 1977. Eleanor Roosevelt, with Love: A Centenary Remembrance , came out in 1984. Eleanor had a close relationship with her aunt, Maude Livingston Hall. The younger sister of Eleanor's mother, Maude

2323-453: A sapphire ring Hickok had given her. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover despised Roosevelt's liberalism, her stance regarding civil rights, and criticisms of Hoover's surveillance tactics by both her and her husband, and so Hoover maintained a large file on Roosevelt, which the filmmakers of the biopic J. Edgar (2011) indicate included compromising evidence of this relationship, with which Hoover intended to blackmail Roosevelt. Compromised as

2424-406: A serious manner as a child. Anna emotionally rejected Eleanor and was also somewhat ashamed of her daughter's alleged "plainness". Roosevelt had two younger brothers: Elliott Jr. and Hall . She also had a half-brother, Elliott Roosevelt Mann, through her father's affair with Katy Mann, a servant employed by the family. Roosevelt was born into a world of immense wealth and privilege, as her family

2525-478: A serious obstacle, noting the depth of Mercer's feelings. Author Persico also doubted that this was a factor, observing that Mercer's mother Minnie had divorced and remarried, and that the family had come to Roman Catholicism only recently. In the end, Franklin appears to have told Mercer disingenuously that Eleanor was not willing to grant a divorce. He and Eleanor remained married, and he pledged never to see Mercer again. The Roosevelts' son James later described

2626-513: A special interest in Roosevelt, who learned to speak French fluently and gained self-confidence. Roosevelt and Souvestre maintained a correspondence until March 1905, when Souvestre died, and after this Roosevelt placed Souvestre's portrait on her desk and brought her letters with her. Roosevelt's first cousin Corinne Douglas Robinson , whose first term at Allenswood overlapped with Roosevelt's last, said that when she arrived at

2727-528: A stroke, she contacted Roosevelt to arrange for him to be cared for at well-regarded Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Historian/author Doris Kearns Goodwin speculated that an entry in the White House ushers diary for August 1, 1941 included a code name for Lucy Rutherfurd, suggesting that she attended a private dinner with the president then. Winthrop Rutherfurd died in March 1944 after

2828-428: A terrific headache," then slumped over losing consciousness. Later, his two doctors – called in soon after the event – said he had suffered a fatal cerebral hemorrhage . Since a thorough medical exam a year earlier, he had received more intense care and concern from a young recently recruited private physician. The two women, Mercer and Shoumatoff , immediately packed and left the cottage. Eleanor nonetheless soon learned

2929-439: A time when Alienor had come to be seen as an equivalent variant of the name Aenor (so that presumably, these women during their own lifetime used the given name Aenor): Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( / ˈ ɛ l ɪ n ɔːr ˈ r oʊ z ə v ɛ l t / EL -in-or ROH -zə-velt ; October 11, 1884 – November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She

3030-663: A week while FDR served as governor, but was forced to leave teaching after his election as president. Also in 1927, she established Val-Kill Industries with Cook, Dickerman, and Caroline O'Day , three friends she met through her activities in the Women's Division of the New York State Democratic Party. It was located on the banks of a stream that flowed through the Roosevelt family estate in Hyde Park, New York . Roosevelt and her business partners financed

3131-542: A woman may be if truth and loyalty are stamped upon her face all will be attracted to her." Roosevelt was tutored privately and with the encouragement of her aunt Anna "Bamie" Roosevelt , she was sent to Allenswood Academy at the age of 15, a private finishing school in Wimbledon, London , England, where she was educated from 1899 to 1902. The headmistress, Marie Souvestre , was a noted educator who sought to cultivate independent thinking in young women. Souvestre took

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3232-547: Is clear from all accounts that Roosevelt 'cared deeply' about the plight of European Jews, her public actions remained limited, and she refrained from pressing for radical policies to rescue the Jews." After World War II she became a staunch champion of Israel, which she admired for its commitment to New Deal values. In the 1920 presidential election , Franklin was nominated as the running mate of Democratic presidential candidate James M. Cox . Roosevelt joined Franklin in touring

3333-687: The Dies Committee subpoenaed leaders of the AYC, who, in addition to serving the AYC, also were members of the Young Communist League . Roosevelt was in attendance at the hearings and afterward invited the subpoenaed witnesses to board at the White House during their stay in Washington D.C. Joseph P. Lash was one of her boarders. On February 10, 1940, members of the AYC, as guests of Roosevelt in her capacity as first lady, attended

3434-473: The " Bonus Army ", a protest group of World War I veterans, marched on Washington for the second time in two years, calling for their veteran bonus certificates to be awarded early. The previous year, President Hoover had ordered them dispersed, and the U.S. Army cavalry charged and bombarded the veterans with tear gas. This time, Roosevelt visited the veterans at their muddy campsite, listening to their concerns and singing army songs with them. The meeting defused

3535-652: The 1920s. Historian/author Persico speculates that these letters may have been the cause of the 1927 nervous breakdown of Roosevelt's long-time unmarried first secretary Marguerite "Missy" LeHand (1898–1944), as LeHand was also reputedly in love with Roosevelt and no medical cause for her breakdown was found. In 1926, Roosevelt mailed Rutherfurd a copy of his first public lecture after his 1921 paralytic illness , privately dedicating it to her with an inscription. At his first presidential inauguration on March 4, 1933, Roosevelt made arrangements for Rutherfurd to attend and witness his swearing-in. When her husband later suffered

3636-467: The 1920s. Rutherfurd and Shoumatoff, along with two female cousins, were sitting there while the artist worked on her painting of Roosevelt as he sat at a card table by the living room stone fireplace, fine-tuning a future speech and reading over some other papers on the early afternoon of April 12, 1945. In this quiet domestic scene as the two had just been smiling at each other, Roosevelt suddenly placed his hand up on his forehead and temple, saying "I have

3737-485: The Hickok relationship was indeed erotic now seems beyond dispute considering what is known about the letters they exchanged." In the same years, Washington gossip linked Roosevelt romantically with New Deal administrator Harry Hopkins , with whom she worked closely. Roosevelt also had a close relationship with New York State Police sergeant Earl Miller , who was assigned by the president to be her bodyguard. Roosevelt

3838-734: The Republican nominee and her first cousin Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Franklin had spoken out on Theodore's "wretched record" as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the Teapot Dome scandal , and in return, Theodore said of him, "He's a maverick! He does not wear the brand of our family," which infuriated her. She dogged Theodore on the New York State campaign trail in a car fitted with a papier-mâché bonnet shaped like

3939-768: The Republican nominee, her first cousin Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Theodore Jr. never forgave her. Eleanor's aunt, Anna "Bamie" Roosevelt Cowles , publicly broke with her after the election. She wrote to her niece, "I just hate to have Eleanor let herself look as she does. Though never handsome, she always had to me a charming effect, but alas and lackaday! Since politics have become her choicest interest all her charm has disappeared...." Roosevelt dismissed Bamie's criticisms by referring to her as an "aged woman." However, Bamie and Roosevelt eventually reconciled. Theodore's elder daughter Alice also broke with Roosevelt over her campaign. Alice and her cousin reconciled after

4040-557: The Todhunter school in New York City, a limited number of Jews were admitted. Most students were upper-class Protestants, and Roosevelt said that the spirit of the school "would be different if we had too large a proportion of Jewish children." She said the problem was that "the country is still full of immigrant Jews, very unlike ourselves." By 1929, however, when she made those statements, her social circle had begun to include

4141-488: The U.S., the newlyweds settled in a New York City house that was provided by Franklin's mother, as well as in a second residence at the family's estate overlooking the Hudson River in Hyde Park, New York . From the beginning, Roosevelt had a contentious relationship with her controlling mother-in-law. The townhouse that Sara gave to them was connected to her own residence by sliding doors, and Sara ran both households in

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4242-614: The Youth Congress," the American Youth Congress was disbanded. The NYA was shut down in 1943. Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd ( née Lucy Page Mercer ; April 26, 1891 – July 31, 1948) was an American woman who sustained a long affair with US president Franklin D. Roosevelt . Lucy Page Mercer was born on April 26, 1891, in Washington, D.C., to Carroll Mercer, a member of Theodore Roosevelt 's " Rough Riders " cavalry military unit in

4343-403: The active business and speaking agenda she had begun before assuming the role of first lady in an era when few married women had careers. She was the first presidential spouse to hold regular press conferences and in 1940 became the first to speak at a national party convention. She also wrote a daily and widely syndicated newspaper column, " My Day ", another first for a presidential spouse. She

4444-449: The affair and became the governess for the children of Winthrop Rutherfurd (1862–1944), a wealthy New York socialite. Winthrop Rutherfurd had proposed to socialite Consuelo Vanderbilt (1877–1964) in 1896, only to see her social-climbing mother instead force her into marriage with Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough (1871–1934) (cousin to later British prime minister Winston Churchill ). Then in his fifties, Rutherfurd

4545-699: The campaigns in Cuba , on the south shore of the island near Santiago during the brief Spanish–American War in 1898, and Minna Leigh (Minnie) Tunis, an independent woman of "Bohemian" exotic, free-spirited tastes. Lucy had one sister, Violetta Carroll Mercer. Though they were both from wealthy, well-connected families, Mercer's parents lost their fortune through the Financial Panic of 1893 and subsequent great recession/depression which curtailed their lavish spending. The pair separated shortly after Lucy's birth, and Carroll became an alcoholic. Minnie then raised

4646-617: The ceremony was front-page news in The New York Times and other newspapers. When asked for his thoughts on the Roosevelt–Roosevelt union, the president said, "It is a good thing to keep the name in the family." The couple spent a preliminary honeymoon of one week at Hyde Park, then set up housekeeping in an apartment in New York. That summer they went on their formal honeymoon , a three-month tour of Europe. Returning to

4747-472: The construction of a small factory to provide supplemental income for local farming families who would make furniture, pewter, and homespun cloth using traditional craft methods. Capitalizing on the popularity of the Colonial Revival , most Val-Kill products were modeled on eighteenth-century forms. Roosevelt promoted Val-Kill through interviews and public appearances. Val-Kill Industries never became

4848-571: The contents of the factory and the use of the Val-Kill name to continue making colonial-style furniture until he retired in 1975. In 1977, Roosevelt's cottage at Val-Kill and its surrounding property of 181 acres (0.73 km2), was formally designated by an act of Congress as the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site , "to commemorate for the education, inspiration, and benefit of present and future generations

4949-509: The country, making her first campaign appearances. Cox was defeated by Republican Warren G. Harding , who won with 404 electoral votes to 127. Following the onset of Franklin's paralytic illness in 1921, Roosevelt began serving as a stand-in for her incapacitated husband, making public appearances on his behalf, often carefully coached by Louis Howe. She also started working with the Women's Trade Union League (WTUL), raising funds in support of

5050-739: The decade after the marriage. Early on, Roosevelt had a breakdown in which she explained to Franklin that "I did not like to live in a house which was not in any way mine, one that I had done nothing about and which did not represent the way I wanted to live", but little changed. Sara also sought to control the raising of her grandchildren, and Roosevelt reflected later that "Franklin's children were more my mother-in-law's children than they were mine". Roosevelt's eldest son James remembered Sara telling her grandchildren, "Your mother only bore you, I am more your mother than your mother is." Roosevelt and Franklin had six children: Roosevelt disliked having sex with her husband. She once told her daughter Anna that it

5151-529: The end of each trip. In 1927, she joined friends Marion Dickerman and Nancy Cook in buying the Todhunter School for Girls, a finishing school which also offered college preparatory courses, in New York City. At the school, Roosevelt taught upper-level courses in American literature and history, emphasizing independent thought, current events, and social engagement. She continued to teach three days

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5252-613: The first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights and oversaw the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . Later, she chaired the John F. Kennedy administration's Presidential Commission on the Status of Women . By the time of her death, Roosevelt was regarded as "one of the most esteemed women in the world"; The New York Times called her "the object of almost universal respect" in her obituary. In 1999, Roosevelt

5353-455: The girls alone. As a young woman, Lucy Mercer worked in a dress shop. In 1914, Mercer was hired by Eleanor Roosevelt to become her social secretary. She quickly became an established part of the Roosevelt household, and good friends with Eleanor. According to historians Joseph Persico and Hazel Rowley , the affair between Mercer and Franklin likely began in 1916, when Eleanor and the children were vacationing at Campobello Island to avoid

5454-484: The governorship of New York, and his capture of the presidency in 1932, particularly with the help of Louis Howe. When Elliott published this book in 1973, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. led the family's denunciation of him; the book was fiercely repudiated by all Elliott's siblings. Another of the siblings, James, published My Parents, a Differing View (with Bill Libby , 1976), which was written in part as

5555-536: The growth and development of a love affair between the two women." In 1992, Roosevelt biographer Blanche Wiesen Cook argued that the relationship was in fact romantic, generating national attention. A 2011 essay by Russell Baker reviewing two new Roosevelt biographies in the New York Review of Books ( Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage , by Hazel Rowley , and Eleanor Roosevelt: Transformative First Lady , by Maurine H. Beasley) stated, "That

5656-485: The latter wrote Alice a comforting letter upon the death of Alice's daughter, Paulina Longworth. Roosevelt and her daughter Anna became estranged after she took over some of her mother's social duties at the White House. The relationship was further strained because Roosevelt desperately wanted to go with her husband to Yalta in February 1945 (two months before FDR's death), but he took Anna instead. A few years later,

5757-516: The letters were anonymously purchased and destroyed, or locked away when she died. Roosevelt was a longtime friend of Carrie Chapman Catt and gave her the Chi Omega award at the White House in 1941. Until middle age, Eleanor Roosevelt exhibited antisemitic tendencies. In a 1918 letter to her mother-in-law, she declared, the "Jew party [was] appalling.... I never wish to hear money, jewels or sables mentioned again." When she became co-owner of

5858-500: The life and work of an outstanding woman in American history." Roosevelt became First Lady of the United States when Franklin was inaugurated on March 4, 1933. Having known all of the twentieth century's previous first ladies, she was seriously depressed at having to assume the role, which had traditionally been restricted to domesticity and hostessing. Her immediate predecessor, Lou Henry Hoover , had ended her feminist activism on becoming first lady, stating her intention to be only

5959-652: The name in contemporary history. A common variant is Eleonora/Eleanora . In 2022, it was the 43rd most popular name given to girls in Canada. Common hypocorisms include Elle , Ella , Ellie, Elly , Leonor , Leonora , Leonore , Nella , Nellie, Nelly , and Nora . The name derives from the Provençal name Aliénor, which became Eléonore in Langue d'oïl , i.e., French, and from there Eleanor in English. The origin of

6060-417: The name is somewhat unclear; one of the earliest bearers appears to have been Eleanor of Aquitaine (1120s–1204). She was the daughter of Aénor de Châtellerault , and it has been suggested that having been baptized Aenor after her mother, she was called alia Aenor , i.e. "the other Aenor" or Aliénor in childhood and would have kept that name in adult life. Some sources say that the name Aénor itself may be

6161-414: The occasion. After flying with Earhart, Roosevelt obtained a student permit but did not further pursue her plans to learn to fly. Franklin was not in favor of his wife becoming a pilot. Nevertheless, the two women communicated frequently throughout their lives. Roosevelt also had a close relationship with Associated Press (AP) reporter Lorena Hickok (1893–1968), who covered her during the last months of

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6262-572: The point that the family constructed a cottage at Val-Kill , in which Eleanor and her guests lived when Franklin and the children were away from Hyde Park. Roosevelt herself named the place Val-Kill, loosely translated as "waterfall-stream" from the Dutch language common to the original European settlers of the area. Franklin encouraged his wife to develop this property as a place where she could implement some of her ideas for work with winter jobs for rural workers and women. Each year, when Roosevelt held

6363-506: The presidential campaign and "fell madly in love with her." During this period, Roosevelt wrote daily 10- to 15-page letters to "Hick," who was planning to write a biography of the First Lady. The letters included such endearments as, "I want to put my arms around you & kiss you at the corner of your mouth," and, "I can't kiss you, so I kiss your 'picture' good night and good morning!" At Franklin's 1933 inauguration , Roosevelt wore

6464-532: The relationship between Eleanor and Anna became strained and cool for some time. In early April 1945, Anna arranged for Rutherfurd to come over from her South Carolina estate in Aiken to meet her father at his " Little White House " in Warm Springs , Georgia , the small plain rustic cottage built at the polio therapy center by the heated mineral water springs resort that Roosevelt helped develop beginning in

6565-866: The relationship. Though it was reported several times in Eleanor's lifetime that Roosevelt had had a serious affair with an unnamed Catholic woman, it remained rumor for decades. The Mercer–Roosevelt affair became wider public knowledge in 1966 when revealed in The Time Between the Wars, a memoir by Jonathan W. Daniels (1902–1981), a Roosevelt aide from 1943 to 1945. When the news of the memoir's contents broke, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. (1914–1988), said that he had no knowledge of an affair between Rutherfurd and his father, while Rutherfurd's daughter Barbara flatly denied that any such romance had occurred. Historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. (1917–2007) stated of

6666-514: The remainder of Franklin's public career in government, Roosevelt regularly made public appearances on his behalf; and as first lady, while her husband served as president, she significantly reshaped and redefined the role. Roosevelt was, in her time, one of the world's most widely admired and powerful women. Nevertheless, in her early years in the White House she was a controversial first lady for her outspokenness, particularly with respect to her promotion of civil rights for African Americans . She

6767-538: The same time that her husband had a rumored relationship with his secretary, Marguerite "Missy" LeHand. Smith writes, "remarkably, both ER and Franklin recognized, accepted, and encouraged the arrangement... Eleanor and Franklin were strong-willed people who cared greatly for each other's happiness but realized their own inability to provide for it." Roosevelt and Miller's relationship is said to have continued until her death in 1962. They are thought to have corresponded daily, but all letters have been lost. According to rumor,

6868-492: The scandal that would ensue. Shoumatoff 's presence became known and she gave a press conference to address questions, but managed to hide Rutherfurd's role, which was not mentioned in post-war biographies or administration histories for almost two decades. Roosevelt's second private secretary Grace Tully (1900–1984), who had also been at Warm Springs at the time of his death, did briefly mention Rutherfurd's presence in her 1949 memoir F.D.R., My Boss , but gave no further hint of

6969-466: The school, Roosevelt was " 'everything' at the school. She was beloved by everybody." Roosevelt wished to continue at Allenswood, but she was summoned home by her grandmother in 1902 to make her social debut . At age 17 in 1902, Roosevelt completed her formal education and returned to the United States; she was presented at a debutante ball at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel on December 14. She

7070-507: The sea all her life. Her mother died from diphtheria on December 7, 1892, and Elliott Jr. died of the same disease the following May. Her father, an alcoholic confined to a sanitarium, died on August 14, 1894, after jumping from a window during a fit of delirium tremens . He survived the fall but died from a seizure. Roosevelt's childhood losses left her prone to depression throughout her life. Her brother Hall later suffered from alcoholism. Before her father died, he implored her to act as

7171-417: The state of the marriage after the incident as "an armed truce that endured until the day he died." Eleanor later wrote, "I have the memory of an elephant. I can forgive, but never forget." The incident marked a turning point in her life; disillusioned with her marriage, she became active in public life, and focused increasingly on her social work rather than her role as a wife. Mercer left Washington after

7272-405: The stricken Franklin during the time of his travail. "You have been a rare wife and have borne your heavy burden most bravely," he said, proclaiming her "one of my heroines". This proved a turning point in Eleanor and Sara's long-running struggle, and as Eleanor's public role grew, she increasingly broke from Sara's control. Tensions between Sara and Eleanor over her new political friends rose to

7373-535: The subsistence program that Roosevelt and her friends imagined, but it did pave the way for larger New Deal initiatives during Franklin's presidential administration. Cook's failing health and pressures from the Great Depression compelled the women to dissolve the partnership in 1938, at which time Roosevelt converted the shop buildings into a cottage at Val-Kill , that eventually became her permanent residence after Franklin died in 1945. Otto Berge acquired

7474-716: The summer heat, while Franklin remained in Washington, D.C. In 1917, Franklin often included Mercer in his summer yachting parties, which Eleanor usually declined to attend. In June 1917, Mercer quit or was fired from her job with Eleanor and enlisted in the US Navy , which was then mobilizing for World War I . Franklin was at that time the Assistant Secretary of the Navy , and Mercer was assigned to his office. Mercer and Franklin continued to see one another privately, causing widespread gossip in Washington. Alice Roosevelt Longworth —daughter of Theodore Roosevelt, and

7575-574: The tension between the veterans and the administration, and one of the marchers later commented, "Hoover sent the Army. [President] Roosevelt sent his wife." In 1933 after she became first lady, a new hybrid tea rose was named after her ( Rosa x hybrida "Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt"). In 1937 she began writing her autobiography, all volumes of which were compiled into The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt in 1961 ( Harper & Brothers , ISBN   0-306-80476-X ). The American Youth Congress (AYC)

7676-480: The time believed to be polio. During the illness, through her nursing care, Roosevelt probably saved Franklin from death. His legs remained permanently paralyzed. When the extent of his disability became clear, Roosevelt fought a protracted battle with her mother-in-law over his future, persuading him to stay in politics despite Sara's urgings that he retire and become a country gentleman. Franklin's attending physician, Dr. William Keen, commended Roosevelt's devotion to

7777-400: The truth from the cousins and felt doubly betrayed to learn of her daughter's role in the long-time deception. Finding Shoumatoff's unfinished watercolor among Franklin's possessions some time later however, she mailed it to Rutherfurd, to which Rutherfurd responded with a warm letter of thanks and condolences. In 1947, Rutherfurd's sister Violetta died by suicide after her husband requested

7878-453: The two were able to reconcile and cooperate on numerous projects. Anna took care of her mother when she was terminally ill in 1962. Roosevelt's son Elliott authored numerous books, including a mystery series in which his mother was the detective. However, these murder mysteries were researched and written by William Harrington. They continued until Harrington's death in 2000, ten years after Elliott's death. With James Brough, Elliott also wrote

7979-449: The union and made him promise that the engagement would not be officially announced for a year. "I know what pain I must have caused you," he wrote to his mother of his decision. However, he added, "I know my own mind, and known it for a long time, and know that I could never think otherwise." Sara took her son on a Caribbean cruise in 1904, hoping that a separation would squelch the romance, but Franklin remained determined. The wedding date

8080-476: The union's goals: a 48-hour workweek, minimum wage , and the abolition of child labor . Throughout the 1920s, Roosevelt became increasingly influential as a leader in the New York State Democratic Party while Franklin used her contacts among Democratic women to strengthen his standing with them, winning their committed support for the future. In 1924, she campaigned for Democrat Alfred E. Smith in his successful re-election bid as governor of New York State against

8181-510: Was 44 years old when she met Miller, 32, in 1929. He became her friend as well as her official escort, teaching her different sports, such as diving and riding, and coached her in tennis. Biographer Blanche Wiesen Cook writes that Miller was Roosevelt's "first romantic involvement" in her middle years. Hazel Rowley concludes, "There is no doubt that Eleanor was in love with Earl for a time ... But they are most unlikely to have had an 'affair'." Roosevelt's friendship with Miller occurred at

8282-644: Was a physical component to the relationship, while Hickok biographer Doris Faber has argued that the insinuative phrases have misled historians. Doris Kearns Goodwin stated in her 1994 Pulitzer Prize –winning account of the Roosevelts that "whether Hick and Eleanor went beyond kisses and hugs" could not be determined with certainty. Roosevelt was close friends with several lesbian couples, such as Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman , and Esther Lape and Elizabeth Fisher Read , suggesting that she understood lesbianism; Marie Souvestre, Roosevelt's childhood teacher and

8383-632: Was a strong financial supporter of the family, the liaison was ended officially. After that, both partners started to keep independent agendas, and Eleanor joined the Women's Trade Union League and became active in the New York state Democratic Party . Roosevelt helped persuade her husband to stay in politics after he was stricken with a paralytic illness in 1921, which cost him the normal use of his legs, and she began giving speeches and appearing at campaign events in his place. Following Franklin's election as governor of New York in 1928, and throughout

8484-545: Was active with the New York Junior League shortly after its founding, teaching dancing and calisthenics in the East Side slums. The organization had been brought to Roosevelt's attention by her friend, organization founder Mary Harriman , and a male relative who criticized the group for "drawing young women into public activity". Roosevelt was a lifelong Episcopalian , regularly attended services, and

8585-483: Was also the first first lady to write a monthly magazine column and to host a weekly radio show. In the first year of her husband's administration, Roosevelt was determined to match his presidential salary, and she earned $ 75,000 from her lectures and writing, most of which she gave to charity. By 1941, she was receiving lecture fees of $ 1,000, and was made an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa at one of her lectures to celebrate her achievements. Roosevelt maintained

8686-560: Was an "ordeal to be borne". She also considered herself ill-suited to motherhood, later writing, "It did not come naturally to me to understand little children or to enjoy them". In September 1918, Roosevelt was unpacking one of Franklin's suitcases when she discovered a bundle of love letters to him from her social secretary, Lucy Mercer . He had been contemplating leaving his wife for Mercer. However, following pressure from his political advisor, Louis Howe , and from his mother, who threatened to disinherit Franklin if he followed through with

8787-626: Was at first angry that her father had put her in such a difficult position. However, she ultimately relented and set up a meeting in Georgetown . To her surprise Anna immediately liked Rutherfurd, and the pair became friends. There were supposedly several dinners in the White House 's second-floor private quarters during Roosevelt's last year which were attended by Rutherfurd in a group with Anna's presence and obvious acceptance. When Eleanor discovered, shortly after Roosevelt's death, from some female cousins, of Anna's role in arranging these meetings,

8888-500: Was born on October 11, 1884, in Manhattan , New York City, to socialites Anna Rebecca Hall and Elliott Roosevelt . From an early age she preferred to be called by her middle name, Eleanor. Through her father, she was a niece of President Theodore Roosevelt . Through her mother, she was a niece of tennis champions Valentine Gill "Vallie" Hall III and Edward Ludlow Hall . Her mother nicknamed her "Granny" because she acted in such

8989-479: Was considered one of society's most eligible widowers. On February 11, 1920, Mercer became his second wife. Franklin Roosevelt learned of the marriage by overhearing the news at a party. The Rutherfurds had one child, Barbara Mercer Rutherfurd (June 14, 1922 – November 6, 2005), who married Robert Winthrop "Bobby" Knowles Jr. in 1946. Despite Roosevelt's promise to Eleanor, he kept in contact with Lucy Rutherfurd after her marriage, corresponding with her throughout

9090-585: Was formed in 1935 to advocate for youth rights in U.S. politics, and it was responsible for introducing the American Youth Bill of Rights to the U.S. Congress. Roosevelt's relationship with the AYC eventually led to the formation of the National Youth Administration , a New Deal agency in the United States, founded in 1935, that focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. The NYA

9191-464: Was headed by Aubrey Willis Williams , a prominent liberal from Alabama who was close to Roosevelt and Harry Hopkins . Speaking of the NYA in the 1930s, Roosevelt expressed her concern about ageism, stating that "I live in real terror when I think we may be losing this generation. We have got to bring these young people into the active life of the community and make them feel that they are necessary." In 1939

9292-425: Was later given her own "coming out party". She said of her debut in a public discussion once, "It was simply awful. It was a beautiful party, of course, but I was so unhappy, because a girl who comes out is so utterly miserable if she does not know all the young people. Of course I had been so long abroad that I had lost touch with all the girls I used to know in New York. I was miserable through all that." Roosevelt

9393-460: Was only six years older than Eleanor and the two grew up together in the home of Maude's mother, Eleanor's grandmother. Their relationship was more like sisters than aunt and niece. After Maude divorced her first husband, the champion polo player Lawrence Waterbury , in 1912, she married the playwright and novelist David Gray in 1914 in a small ceremony attended only by Eleanor and the Roosevelt family lawyer, John M. Hackett . The couple maintained

9494-516: Was part of New York high society called the "swells". On May 19, 1887, the two-year-old Roosevelt was on board the SS Britannic with her father, mother and aunt Tissie, when it collided with White Star Liner SS Celtic . She was lowered into a lifeboat and she and her parents were taken to the Celtic and returned to New York. After this traumatic event, Eleanor was afraid of ships and

9595-572: Was promoting Smith's candidacy for president and Franklin's nomination as the Democratic Party's candidate for governor of New York, succeeding Smith. Although Smith lost the presidential race, Franklin won and the Roosevelts moved into the governor's mansion in Albany , New York. During Franklin's term as governor, Roosevelt traveled widely in the state to make speeches and inspect state facilities on his behalf, reporting her findings to him at

9696-632: Was proud of his many academic accomplishments, which included a master's degree in engineering from Harvard . After the deaths of her parents, Roosevelt was raised in the household of her maternal grandmother, Mary Livingston Ludlow Hall of the Livingston family in Tivoli, New York . As a child, she was insecure and starved for affection, and considered herself the "ugly duckling". However, Roosevelt wrote at 14 that one's prospects in life were not totally dependent on physical beauty: "no matter how plain

9797-568: Was ranked ninth in the top ten of Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century , and was found to rank as the most admired woman in thirteen different years between 1948 and 1961 in Gallup's annual most admired woman poll . Periodic surveys conducted by the Siena College Research Institute have consistently seen historians assess Roosevelt as the greatest American first lady. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

9898-561: Was set to accommodate President Theodore Roosevelt, who was scheduled to be in New York City for the St. Patrick's Day parade, and who agreed to give the bride away. The couple were married on March 17, 1905, in a wedding officiated by Endicott Peabody , the groom's headmaster at Groton School . Her cousin Corinne Douglas Robinson was a bridesmaid. The marriage took place in New York City. Theodore Roosevelt's attendance at

9999-501: Was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt 's four terms as president, making her the longest-serving first lady of the United States. Through her travels, public engagement, and advocacy, she largely redefined the role of first lady. Roosevelt then served as a United States Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly from 1945 to 1952, and took

10100-408: Was the first presidential spouse to hold regular press conferences, write a daily newspaper column, write a monthly magazine column, host a weekly radio show, and speak at a national party convention. On a few occasions, she publicly disagreed with her husband's policies. She launched an experimental community at Arthurdale, West Virginia , for the families of unemployed miners, later widely regarded as

10201-616: Was very familiar with the New Testament . Dr. Harold Ivan Smith states that she, "was very public about her faith. In hundreds of "My Day" and "If You Ask Me" columns, she addressed issues of faith, prayer and the Bible." In the summer of 1902, Roosevelt encountered her father's fifth cousin , Franklin Delano Roosevelt, on a train to Tivoli, New York . The two began a secret correspondence and romance, and became engaged on November 22, 1903. Franklin's mother, Sara Ann Delano , opposed

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