Contents
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Leading the United States through the Great Depression and most of the Second World War.
New Deal · Social Security Act
- Born
- 30 January 1882
- Birthplace
- Hyde Park, USA
- Died
- 12 April 1945
More people
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Winston ChurchillBeing a racist bigot and responsible for the orders that led to the Bengal famine of 1943, in which an estimated three million people died.
George WashingtonCommanding the Continental Army and becoming the first US president.Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd US president. His New Deal expanded the federal government’s role in economic and social life, and his wartime leadership helped shape the Allied coalition.
Early life
Hyde Park childhood
Grew up in a wealthy New York family at the Springwood estate.
Education and law
Studied at Harvard and Columbia Law School before practising law.
Career
- 1911–1920
Early public office
Served in New York’s state senate and as assistant secretary of the Navy.
- 1929–1932
New York governor
Returned to elected office after illness had left his legs paralysed.
- 1933–1945
President
Won four presidential elections and served until his death.
Selected work
New Deal
A programme of relief, economic recovery and financial reform.
Social Security Act
Established federal old-age benefits and related social protections.
Atlantic Charter
Outlined common war aims with Winston Churchill before US entry into the war.
Beyond work
Political partnership
Married Eleanor Roosevelt, who developed an influential public career of her own.
Civil liberties
Authorised wartime measures that led to the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans.
Sources & photo credit
Life and career ↗Institutional or specialist reference ↗Photo: Leon Perskie. CC BY 2.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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