Biography Timeline: Eleanor Roosevelt

Date & Year Information

October 11, 1884 The date of birth of Eleanor Roosevelt and was born
in a fine townhouse in Manhattan. She was an
unwanted child for when she was born; her parents
had wanted a boy. They were scarcely able to hide
their disappointment. Her lovely mother, Anna Hall
Roosevelt was portrayed as an elegant and sociable
person; she wore magnificent jewels and fine clothing.
Her father, Elliott Roosevelt, was more of an
adventurous type of person; he had his own hunting
lodge, and liked to sail and to play tennis and polo. The
Roosevelt family, one of America’s oldest and
wealthiest families, was respected and admired.

1884 - 1889 In her early years, she was rather viewed as an

unattractive child- plain looking, ordinary and homely.
Her mother called her "Granny" because of her
seriousness, and she was teased and called the "ugly
duckling" by other people because of her looks.
Afterward, she was more ignored and excluded, as
her two brothers, Elliott and Hall, was added in the
family. Eleanor felt unwanted, and became shy and
withdrawn. She developed different kinds of fears
like in the dark, children and strangers, animals, and
was more anxious with herself.

On the better side, one of her joyful moment

happened in her early years. She was loved by her
father. He used to dance with her, and play with her
and called her, “little golden hair” or “darling little
 Nell.” He cared for little Eleanor.

1890 Eleanor's father left, and went to live in a sanitarium

(6 years old) in Virginia in an attempt to deal with his drinking
problem. Afterwards, her mother became ill with
painful headaches, Eleanor would sit holding her
mother’s head in her lap and stroking her forehead
for hours, but nothing seemed to relieve the pain.

1891 Since her mother was suffering with painful

(7 years old) headache, she took care of her, and during those
times, Eleanor would then remember how her mother
made her feel excluded, and indifferent. She was glad
at that moment that she was needed and noticed.

1892 Sadly, her mother Anna Hall Roosevelt, died. After a

(8 years old) little time, her brother, Elliott, also died but from
diphtheria. Afterwards, Eleanor and her little
brother, Hall, lived with their grandmother in
Manhattan. A few months later, Eleanor's father,
Elliot Roosevelt also died. Within eighteen those
months, Eleanor and her little brother have lost their
parents, and their other brother.

1892 – 1897 Eleanor has a hard time moving on, especially on her
father's death. Their grandmother's townhouse
where they moved in, were dark and gloomy and had
no place for children to play. Since their grandmother,
Hall, was old and often confused, they were usually
neglected, and didn't show much the feeling of home.

They were strictly raised and disciplined; they were

expected to take cold baths for their health, and to
work at a better posture, and had only two dresses to
wear. Eleanor isolated herself, rather than making
 friends; she would often sat alone in her room, and
read, and wrote hero of stories about her father
pretending he was still alive.

On the brighter side, she had her few moments of

happiness from visiting her uncle, Theodore Roosevelt,
in Oyster Bay, Long Island. She would often play
games and romp outdoors together with the other
Roosevelt children. Her uncle would also often read
old Norse tales and poetry. At Sagamore Hill, her
uncle's home, Eleanor first learned how much fun to
read books aloud.

1898 Eleanor was sent to boarding school at Allenswood in

England. It was a private academy for girls found on
the outskirts of London. At Allenswood she decided to
toughen herself physically. She did exercises and took
cold showers in the morning, and even tried out
hockey, playing so hard and winning the respect of her
teammates. She was called by her family nickname,
"Totty", and had given her books and flowers in her
room. Eleanor was finally feeling great, and alive and
began looking after her health. She learned to eat
healthy foods and got plenty of sleep. She also
learned how to speak French fluently by travelling in
France and surround herself with a French family.
The school’s headmistress, Mademoiselle Souvestre,
even got her a new red dress. Eleanor felt delighted
growing up, feeling the joy of young womanhood.

1902 Eleanor left Allenswood. Her grandmother Hall

insisted her to introduce herself to society as a
debutante; to go to dances and parties, and socialize
herself with other wealthy young women. Leaving
 Allenswood, she felt anxious to her physical
appearance again, but still went to all of the parties
and dances. She also began working with poor
children at the Rivington Street Settlement House on
New York’s Lower East Side. She advocated the
importance of better and cleaner schools and safer
streets.

1903 Eleanor fell in love. The young man, Franklin Delano

Roosevelt, was also her fifth cousin and had promised
that his love was indeed "for life", and with that,
Eleanor agreed to marry him. He was twenty-one. She
was nineteen.

March 17, 1905 Eleanor and Franklin were married. His uncle,
Theodore Roosevelt, by then president of the United
Stated, was there to "give the bride away. Eleanor
had found the ceremony deeply moving. And she stood
next to her husband in a glow of idealism—very
serious, very grave, very much in love.

May 1906 They had first their born. And with the next nine
years, Eleanor gave birth to five more babies, one of
whom died in infancy. Before long, trouble had came in
the relationship of the couple. They misunderstood
each other and became distant.

1910 Her husband, Franklin Roosevelt, was elected to the

New York State Senate.

1913 Franklin was appointed by President Wilson as a

Assistant Secretary of the Navy—a powerful position
in the national government. The Roosevelt moved in
Washington, D.C
1917 The US entered World War I. Eleanor threw herself
into the war effort; working fifteen and sixteen hours
a day. She made sandwiched and knitted sweaters.
She also made the Red Cross to build a recreation
room for soldiers.

1920 The Democratic Party chose Franklin as its candidate

for vice-president of the US, though the Republicans
won the election. Roosevelt became a well-known
figure in national politics. All the time, Eleanor stood
by his side, smiling, doing what was expected of her as
a candidate’s wife.

1921 Franklin suddenly fell ill with infantile paralysis—polio,

and nobody knew what caused the disease or how to
cure it. He never got to use his legs again, but Eleanor
stood up beside him, calm and strong. Franklin slowly
recovered his health.

1928 Franklin was elected governor of New York.

1932 Franklin was elected as president of the United

States. To keep Franklin in the public eye while he
was recovering, she had involved herself with politics.
With the help of Franklin’s adviser Louis Howe, she
made fundraising speeches for the Democratic Party
all around New York State.

She helped in the work of the League of Women

Voters, the Consumer’s League, and the Foreign Policy
Association. After becoming interested in the
problems of working women, she gave time to the
Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL). The nation
facing its deepest depression, Eleanor worked in the
 charity kitchens, ladling out soup. She visited slums.
She crisscrossed the country learning about the
suffering of coal miners, shipyard workers, migrant
farm workers, students, housewives— Americans
caught up in the paralysis of the Great Depression.
She lectured widely, wrote a regularly syndicated
newspaper column, “My Day,” and spoke frequently on
the radio. She fought for equal pay for women in
industry. Like no other First Lady up to that time, she
became a link between the president and the
American public. Above all she fought against racial
and religious prejudice. Her example marked an
important step in making the rights of blacks a matter
of national priority

December 7, 1941 Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on the

American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as well
as on other American installations in the Pacific. The
United States entered World War II, fighting not
only against Japan but against the brutal dictators
who then controlled Germany and Italy. Eleanor
helped the Red Cross raise money. She gave blood,
sold war bonds.

1943 Eleanor visited barracks and hospitals on islands

throughout the South Pacific. When she visited a
hospital, she stopped at every bed. Admiral Nimitz,
who originally thought such visits would be a nuisance,
became one of her strongest admirers.

April 12, 1945 Eleanor's husband, Franklin Roosevelt, who had gone
to Warm Springs, Georgia, for a rest, was dead.
Eleanor continued her life in politics.
 December 1945 President Harry S. Truman invited her to be one of
the American delegates going to London to begin the
work of the United Nations. Eleanor Roosevelt who,
almost single-handedly, pushed through the United
Nations General Assembly a resolution giving refugees
from World War II the right not to return to their
native lands if they did not wish to. Next, she helped
draft the United Nations Declaration of Human
Rights. Eleanor insisted that the United Nations
should stand for individual freedom—the rights of
people to free speech, freedom of religion, and such
human needs as health care and education.

December 1948 The Soviet Union and its allies refusing to vote, the
Declaration of Human Rights won approval of the UN
General Assembly. Eleanor continued to travel. In
places around the world she dined with presidents and
kings, but yet, she also visited tenement slums in
Bombay, India; factories in Yugoslavia; farms in
Lebanon and Israel. She continued to write her
newspaper column, “My Day,” and to appear on
television. She also taught retarded children and
raised money for health care of the poor. After some
time, she was forced to withdraw from some of her
activities, to spend more time at home

November 7, 1962 Eleanor Roosevelt died at the age of 78 in her sleep.

She was buried in the rose garden at Hyde Park,
alongside her husband. The American ambassador of
the UN remembered her as “the First Lady of the
World,” as well as quoted her that “She would rather
light a candle than curse the darkness.”