10 Interesting Facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt

These following facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt will probably expand your knowledge about his life was. If you’re living in the United States, you must know who Franklin D. Roosevelt was. He was known by his initials, FDR, a 32nd President of the United States and served for 12 years and four terms until his death in 1945. He led the United States during a time of worldwide economic depression and total war. To get to know more about him, below are the other facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt you may be interested in.

Facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt 1: Young Franklin

For starters, different from any other previous U.S presidents, young Franklin was an only child of very wealthy parents. He grew up on an estate in New York’s Hudson Valley.

Facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt 2: Theodore Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt actually had the same great-great-great-great-grandparents. In this case, the distant relative was Nicholas Roosevelt, who lived from 1658 to 1742. Theodore was related to one of Nicholas’ sons, while Franklin was related to a second son.

Facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt 3: Eleanor Roosevelt

Young Franklin was also related to his own wife. Eleanor Roosevelt was Theodore Roosevelt’s brother’s daughter. Since her father had passed away, Eleanor was walked down the aisle on her wedding day in 1905 by the president himself, Uncle Teddy.

Facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt 4: Home Schooling

Young Franklin also reportedly had a hard time adjusting to school. He was taught at home on the family estate until the age of 14, when Franklin was sent to prep school at Groton. He later went to Harvard. At the same time, he rekindled a relationship with Eleanor, and the two became engaged on November 22, 1903.

Facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt 5: Socially Active

The college student Roosevelt was average academically, but very, very active socially. He was editor of the college newspaper, graduated in three years, and later passed his bar exam (after attending Columbia) without finishing his law degree. Being really active on personality is also found on other former U.S president, such as on Rutherford B. Hayes. Check out for more Rutherford B. Hayes facts.

Facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt 6: Democrat

After a brief law career, Franklin entered politics as a Democrat. His famous relative, Teddy, and many other Roosevelts were Republicans. But Franklin quickly climbed the Democratic ranks to become the assistant secretary of the Navy during World War I.

Facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt 7: Presidential Ticket

When Roosevelt ran for president in 1932, it was not his first appearance on a presidential ticket. In 1920, he ran as vice president on the unsuccessful Democratic ticket that featured James Cox as president.

Facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt 8: Polio

After his vice presidential defeat, Roosevelt contracted what was diagnosed as polio in 1921 while on vacation in Canada. He was paralyzed from the waist down ever since. With Eleanor’s support, Roosevelt did not give up his political career, and in 1928 he was elected the governor of New York.

Facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt 9: Guillain-Barre Syndrome

In recent years, there are researchers who are not convinced that Roosevelt’s paralysis was caused by polio. A recent study appearing in the Journal of Medical Biography said the future president most likely suffered from Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

Facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt 10: Misdiagnosed

And finally, the Journal article points out by misdiagnosing Roosevelt’s condition as polio, the eventual attention to the illness saved countless lives. As president, Roosevelt championed efforts to wipe out polio in programs like the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and the March of Dimes. In the 1950s, the Salk vaccine ended the polio threat.

Those following facts about Franklin D. Roosevelt might make you feel more amazed about the his life. His life is really interesting. And also, since he took great responsibility to the whole America, he was really kind to people, yet really caring to each other. Hope you found Franklin D. Roosevelt facts really interesting and useful.