DemocratPresident · New York
Franklin D. Roosevelt"FDR"
1933 first electedLeft office 194512 years servedBorn 1882 in Hyde Park, New YorkDied 1945
Biography
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born January 30, 1882. He studied at Harvard and Columbia Law School before entering politics, serving as a New York state senator and then Assistant Secretary of the Navy under Woodrow Wilson. In 1921, at age 39, he was struck by polio, which left him unable to walk without assistance for the rest of his life — something he largely kept hidden from the public. He became Governor of New York before winning the presidency in 1932 during the depths of the Great Depression, introducing the New Deal to combat mass unemployment and economic collapse. He led the country through most of WWII and was elected to an unprecedented four terms (1933–1945), a feat that led to the 22nd Amendment later limiting presidents to two terms. He died in office in April 1945, just months before the war's end.
Additional Info
Spouse
Eleanor Roosevelt
Vice President
John Nance Garner (1933–1941), Henry A. Wallace (1941–1945), Harry S. Truman (Jan–Apr 1945)
Prior Offices
New York state senator, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Governor of New York
Fun Fact
Roosevelt kept his paralysis so carefully concealed that most Americans at the time didn't know he used a wheelchair — reporters and photographers largely cooperated in an unspoken agreement not to photograph him in ways that revealed his disability, a level of media discretion that would be almost unthinkable today.
Election History
No election records found in the database yet.