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Franklin Delano Roosevelt (30 Jan. 1882-12 Apr. 1945), thirty-second president of the United States, was born on his family's estate in Dutchess County, New York, the son of James Roosevelt, a wealthy, landed gentleman who dabbled in but usually devoted no great effort to business, and Sara Delano. The couple lived their lives and raised their child in a manner reminiscent of the English aristocracy, and Franklin grew up, therefore, in a remarkably cosseted environment, insulated from the normal experiences of most American boys both by his family's wealth and by their all-encompassing love. Until he was fourteen years old, he lived in a world almost entirely dominated by adults: his Swiss tutors, who supervised his lessons at home or during the family's annual travels through Europe; his father, who sought to train his son in the life of a landowner and gentleman; and above all his mother, who devoted virtually all her energies to raising her only child. It was a world of extraordinary comfort, security, and serenity but also one of reticence and reserve, particularly after 1891, when James Roosevelt suffered the first of a series of heart attacks that left him a semi-invalid. Franklin responded to his father's condition protectively. He tried to spare his father any anxiety by masking his own emotions and projecting a calm, cheerful demeanor. He would continue hiding his feelings behind a bright, charming surface for the rest of his life. In the fall of 1896 Franklin left his parents to attend Groton, a rigorous boarding school in Massachusetts that was something of a shock to a boy who had never before attended school with other children. He had never had any close friends of his own age and had difficulty making them now. Physically slight, he attained little distinction in athletics, which dominated the life of the school, and went through his four years at Groton a lonely outsider. Upon entering Harvard College in 1900, Roosevelt set out to make up for what he considered his social failures at Groton. He worked hard at making friends, ran for class office, and became president of the student newspaper, the Crimson. He also became conspicuous in his enthusiasm for his distant cousin Theodore Roosevelt, even affecting some of the president's famous mannerisms, such as wearing a pince-nez and frequent, hearty use of the well-known Roosevelt exclamations "Delighted" and "Bully." But he failed to achieve what he craved above all: election to the most exclusive of the Harvard "final clubs," the Porcellian. It was, he later said, "the greatest disappointment of my life." During Roosevelt's first year at Harvard, his ailing father died, and Sara Roosevelt took a house in Boston to be near her son. Devoted to his mother, Franklin Roosevelt was always attentive and loving toward her. Yet he was determined by now to create a life of his own, and Sara's intrusive presence made him intensely secretive. Indeed, he obscured from her the most important experience of his Harvard years, his courtship of his distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt's niece, whom he had known slightly as a child. The couple began to spend time together during the 1902 social season, when Eleanor made her debut. Even though the handsome, charming, and somewhat glib Franklin seemed to have little in common with the quiet, reserved, and intensely serious Eleanor, the mutual attraction grew. By the time Franklin graduated from Harvard in 1904, they were secretly engaged. Despite the initial resistance of Franklin's mother, they married in March 1905. They had a daughter and four sons. A New Deal Roosevelt's task in the fall campaign was a relatively simple one: avoid doing anything to alarm the electorate while allowing Hoover's enormous unpopularity to drive voters to the Democrats. He traveled extensively giving speeches filled with sunny generalities; he was perpetually genial; and he continued to criticize Hoover for failing to balance the budget and for expanding the bureaucracy. But he only occasionally gave indications of his own increasingly progressive agenda. On one such occasion, at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, he outlined in general terms a new set of government responsibilities: for an "enlightened administration" to help the economy revive, to distribute "wealth and products more equitably," and to provide "everyone an avenue to possess himself of a portion of that plenty sufficient for his needs, through his own work." The presidential campaign brought together people who had guided Roosevelt's career in the past and people who would shape his presidency thereafter. Howe and Farley remained his principal political strategists, Eleanor Roosevelt continued to serve as a surrogate for her husband, and Marguerite "Missy" LeHand, Roosevelt's personal secretary since 1920, remained the one constant, daily presence in his life. The 1932 campaign also brought him into contact with new aides and advisers, perhaps most notably a group of academic advisers dubbed the "brain trust" by reporters. Chief among them were three Columbia University professors, Raymond Moley, Adolf A. Berle, Jr., and Rexford G. Tugwell, who helped write his campaign speeches, including the Commonwealth Club address, and, more important, began developing ideas for his presidency. Roosevelt won handily with 57 percent of the popular vote to Hoover's 40 and with 472 electoral votes to Hoover's 59. Democrats also won solid control of both houses of Congress. Most observers interpreted the results less as a mandate for Roosevelt, whose plans remained largely unknown to the public, than as a repudiation of Hoover. Many skeptics still shared Walter Lippmann's famously dismissive view of Roosevelt as "a pleasant man who, without any important qualifications for the office, would very much like to be president." In the four months between his victory and his inauguration, Roosevelt did little to dispel those doubts. The depression worsened considerably, with more than 25 percent of the workforce unemployed, and early in 1933 a series of bank failures deepened the crisis. President Hoover, conservative Democrats, and leading business figures all urged the president-elect to restore confidence by pledging himself to fiscal and monetary conservatism. Roosevelt refused while offering few clues to his own plans. The most dramatic event of his "interregnum" was an attempted assassination in Miami in February, in which Roosevelt was not injured but the mayor of Chicago was killed. The president-elect responded to the incident with the same unruffled, genial calm he had displayed since the election. Want to learn about the many New Deal programs and what the New Deal did for the people of America during the 1930s and 1940s? Visit the FDR Center's New Deal summary section to learn all about the New Deal. Jan 30, 1882 Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born at Hyde Park, New York, now a national historic site 1905 On Saint Patrick's Day, Franklin Delano Roosevelt married Eleanor Roosevelt 1910 Franklin Delano Roosevelt won election to the New York Senate 1913 Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson with Josephus Daniels as Secretary of the Navy 1920 Franklin Delano Roosevelt nominated for Vice President on the Democratic ticket, with James M. Cox of Ohio as the Democrats' choice for President. Despite a vigorous campaign, the Cox/Roosevelt ticket is soundly defeated in the November national election in a Republican year at the voting booths 1921 Franklin Delano Roosevelt stricken with polio (poliomyelitis) at summer home on Canadian island of Campobello 1924 Franklin Delano Roosevelt reemerges as a national political figure, delivering the nomination speech for New York Governor Alfred E. Smith, the famous "Happy Warrior" speech 1928 In another otherwise Republican electoral year, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected Governor of New York 1929 Franklin Delano Roosevelt becomes Governor of New York 1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected President for 1st time, becoming the 32nd US President 1933 US President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt survives assassination attempt 1933 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt inaugurated as 32nd President, pledges to pull America out of Depression & says "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" 1933 Roosevelt establishes diplomatic relations with USSR 1933 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announces US will leave the gold standard 1933 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt conducts his 1st "fireside chat" 1933 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt creates Federal Alcohol Control Administration 1933 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt creates the Civil Works Administration 1933 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declares a nationwide bank holiday 1933 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt makes wine & beer with up to 3.2% alcohol legal 1933 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaims 10-day bank holiday 1934 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt devalues the dollar in relation to gold at $35 per ounce 1934 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs Federal Credit Union Act establishing credit unions 1935 The US Rural Electrification Administration (REA) was created through executive order by President F. D. Roosevelt which offered loans to cooperatives and power districts in order to finance supply of power to rural areas 1935 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicates Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam) 1935 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaims the Philippine Islands a free commonwealth 1935 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs an act prohibiting export of US arms to belligerents 1936 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicates Boulder Dam, now known as Hoover Dam 1936 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt rededicates Statue of Liberty on its 50th anniversary 1936 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs 2nd neutrality act 1936 Franklin Delano is re-elected for his second term as US President 1937 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicates Bonneville Dam on Columbia River (Oregon) 1937 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposes enlarging Supreme Court, "court packing" plan failed 1937 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs act of neutrality 1937 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visits Grand Coulee Dam construction site in Washington State 1938 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicates Thousand Islands Bridge connecting US & Canada 1939 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declares "limited national emergency" due to war in Europe 1939 Albert Einstein - Teller and Szilard send a letter to President Roosevelt informing him of German atomic research and the potential for a bomb which prompts Roosevelt to form a special committee to investigate the military implications of atomic research   1940 Franklin Delano is re-elected for his third term as US President 1941 Charles Lindbergh, charges "the British, the Jewish & the Roosevelt administration" are trying to get the US into WW II 1941 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issues Executive Order 8802 forbidding discrimination 1941 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimes an "unlimited national emergency" due to Germany's sinking of Robin Moor 1941 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs Lend-Lease Bill (lend money to Britain) 1941 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "4 Freedoms" speech (speech, worship, from want & from fear) 1942 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt asks commissioner to continue baseball during WWII 1942 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt orders detention & internment of all west-coast Japanese-Americans 1942 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt orders men between 45 & 64 to register for non military duty 1943 Roosevelt, Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek meet to discuss ways to defeat Japan 1943 Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at Tehran to map out strategy 1943 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appoints General Eisenhower supreme commander of Allied forces 1943 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt becomes 1st US pres to visit a foreign country during wartime 1943 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicates Jefferson Memorial 1943 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt orders minimal 48 hour work week in war industry 1943 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs withholding tax bill into law 1943 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, French General de Gaulle and US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt meet in Casablanca concerning WWII 1944 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs "GI Bill of Rights" (Servicemen's Readjustment Act) 1944 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt wins 4th term in office, defeating Thomas E Dewey Apr 12, 1945 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dies at Warm Springs, Georgia, of a cerebral hemorrhage 1945 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt buried on grounds of Hyde Park home 1945 World War II ended in Europe less than a month after the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 2002 The Franklin D. Roosevelt American Heritage Center, Inc. is founded to promote the life and legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and the New Deal Jul 24, 2004 The Franklin D. Roosevelt American Heritage Center Museum has its Grand Opening, held in the Great Hall of Union Station in Worcester, Massachusetts, attended by hundreds of veterans and citizens as well as a distinguished group of speakers