Did you know that when her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office, the first Lady Eleanor Roosevelt started advocating for human rights, women right and children causes. She went on to become chair of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in 1945. First Lady Roosevelt was the longest serving first lady as her husband held four terms in office.

Franklin Roosevelt was her fifth cousin. When President Franklin Roosevelt was stricken with polio causing Mrs. Roosevelt to become increasingly active in politics in part to help him maintain his interests but also to assert her own personality and goals. 

Upon moving to the White House in 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt informed the nation that they should not expect their new first lady to be a symbol of elegance, but rather “plain, ordinary Mrs. Roosevelt.” Despite this disclaimer, she showed herself to be an extraordinary First Lady. In 1933, Mrs. Roosevelt became the first, First Lady to hold her own press conference. In an attempt to afford equal time to women–who were traditionally barred from presidential press conferences–she allowed only female reporters to attend. In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to allow Marion Anderson, an African American singer, to perform in their auditorium. In protest, Mrs. Roosevelt resigned her membership in the DAR.