Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) was one of the most politically active of all US First Ladies. As wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt she used her stature to promote her husband’s New Deal programs as well as broader goals of civil and human rights. After her husband’s death in 1945, she became an internationally known proponent for human rights and the United Nations. She chaired the committee that drafted and approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. President Harry S. Truman called her the First Lady of the World in honor of her efforts.