Franklin D. Roosevelt
He guided America through its darkest economic crisis and a world war, reshaping the nation's relationship with government.
1882–1945 (age 63)·President of the United States from 1933 to 1945·Birthday: January 30·The Gilded Age
Biography
Born into a wealthy New York family, Franklin D. Roosevelt's path seemed set for a life of quiet privilege. That trajectory was shattered when he was stricken with polio in 1921, an event that forged a resilience that would define his public life. As governor of New York during the early throes of the Great Depression, he experimented with relief programs that became a blueprint for his presidency. Taking office in 1933 with banks shuttered and despair rampant, he launched a whirlwind of legislation known as the New Deal, creating Social Security, regulating Wall Street, and putting millions to work. His fireside chats calmed a frightened nation, his voice a familiar comfort. Elected an unprecedented four times, he later steered the country from isolationism to victory in World War II, dying in office just weeks before the war's end, leaving a legacy of expansive federal power and a belief in collective action.
The Gilded Age
1860–1882
Born during or after the Civil War, they built industrial America — the railroads, the steel mills, the first skyscrapers. An era of massive wealth, massive inequality, and the belief that the future belonged to whoever could build it fastest.
Franklin was born in 1882, placing them squarely in The Gilded Age. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Franklin Was Born
The biggest hits of 1882
Franklin's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1882Born
First electrical power plant opens in New York
President: Chester A. Arthur
1887Started school
President: Grover Cleveland
1895Became a teenager
First public film screening by the Lumiere brothers
President: Grover Cleveland
1898Could drive
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
President: William McKinley
1900Could vote
Boxer Rebellion in China
President: William McKinley
1903Turned 21
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1912Turned 30
Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage
President: William Howard Taft
1922Turned 40
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1932Turned 50
Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Night and Day" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Grand Hotel
1942Turned 60
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1945Died at 63
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
Key Achievements
- Led the United States through the Great Depression, implementing the New Deal's sweeping economic and social reforms.
- Served as President for over twelve years, the longest tenure in American history, elected to four terms.
- Mobilized American industry and military for Allied victory in World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Established foundational programs like Social Security and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Became the first U.S. president to appear regularly on television with his reassuring 'fireside chat' radio broadcasts.
Did You Know?
He was distantly related to his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt; they were fifth cousins once removed.
He founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which later became the March of Dimes.
He was the first president to appoint a woman to a Cabinet post, Frances Perkins as Secretary of Labor.
His Scottish terrier, Fala, became so famous he received his own Secret Service code name.
He designed and built a retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia, now known as the Little White House, to aid his polio therapy.
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
