Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884 1962

1898 school portrait

Born: 11 October 1884, New York City Died: 7 November 1962, New York City Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born at New York City on this day in 1884. When she was eight her mother died and her father was confined in a sanitarium and died two years later. She was tutored at home and, at 15, sent to Allenswood Academy outside London. In 1903 she was engaged to a fifth cousin, Franklin and married him in 1905. Although her relationship with her uncle Theodore was always positive, her marriage into the "Hyde Park" Roosevelts put her at odd with most of her own family, the "Oyster Bay" Roosevelts. After FDR contracted polio in 1921, Eleanor began to move confidently in New York state Democratic circles, initially representing her husband but developing her own public stature. She was the most active and public first lady, holding weekly news conferences and writing a weekly column. She traveled widely, representing the administration with those most affected by the Depression, and served hot dogs to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1939. During the war she visited wounded soldiers, including in the south Pacific and was active in support of women and blacks serving in the war effort. She was US delegate to the United Nations from 1947-1952, and remained public and vocal, serving as a trustee of Brandeis University and Chaired the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. She received 48 honorary degrees.

A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living, I think. Eleanor Roosevelt A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity. Eleanor Roosevelt - You Learn by Living (1960) A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water. Eleanor Roosevelt Ambition is pitiless. Any merit that it cannot use it finds despicable. Eleanor Roosevelt Anger is one letter away from danger. Eleanor Roosevelt Anyone who knows history, particularly the history of Europe, will, I think, recognize that the domination of education or of government by any one particular religious faith is never a happy arrangement for the people. Eleanor Roosevelt Anyone who thinks must think of the next war as they would of suicide. Eleanor Roosevelt As for accomplishments, I just did what I had to do as things came along. Eleanor Roosevelt At all times, day by day, we have to continue fighting for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom from want for these are things that must be gained in peace as well as in war. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (15 April 1943) Campaign behavior for wives: Always be on time. Do as little talking as humanly possible. Lean back in the parade car so everybody can see the president. Eleanor Roosevelt Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. Eleanor Roosevelt Do whatever comes your way as well as you can. Think as little as possible about yourself and as much as possible about other people and other things that are interesting. Put a good deal of thought into

happiness that you are able to give. Eleanor Roosevelt y During prohibition I observed the law meticulously, but I came gradually to see that laws are only observed with the consent of the individuals concerned and a moral change still depends on the individual and not on the passage of any law. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (14 July 1939) Experience should teach us that it is always the unexpected that does occur. Eleanor Roosevelt

Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect. Eleanor Roosevelt I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity. Eleanor Roosevelt y I used to tell my husband that, if he could make me 'understand' something, it would be clear to all the other people in the country. Eleanor Roosevelt I was one of those who was very happy when the original prohibition amendment passed. I thought innocently that a law in this country would automatically be complied with, and my own observation led me to feel rather ardently that the less strong liquor anyone consumed the better it was. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (14 July 1939) I would not be very much surprised if some writers or actors or stagehands, or what not, were found to have Communist leanings, but I was surprised to find that, at the start of the inquiry, some of the big producers were so chicken-hearted about speaking up for the freedom of their industry. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (29 October 1947) I'm so glad I never feel important, it does complicate life! Eleanor Roosevelt If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor. Eleanor Roosevelt If man is to be liberated to enjoy more leisure, he must also be prepared to enjoy this leisure fully and creatively. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (5 November 1958) If the use of leisure time is confined to looking at TV for a few extra hours every day, we will deteriorate as a people. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (5 November 1958)

If we want a free and peaceful world, if we want to make the deserts bloom and man grow to greater dignity as a human being, we can do it. Eleanor Roosevelt If you have any interests you can gain a wider audience for those interests while the goldfish bowl is yours. Eleanor Roosevelt In all our contacts it is probably the sense of being really needed and wanted which gives us the greatest satisfaction and creates the most lasting bond. Eleanor Roosevelt In our country we must trust the people to hear and see both the good and the bad and to choose the good. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (29 October 1947) In the long run there is no more exhilarating experience than to determine one's position, state it bravely and then act boldly. Eleanor Roosevelt - Tomorrow Is Now (1963) In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility. Eleanor Roosevelt It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself. Eleanor Roosevelt It is not more vacation we need - it is more vocation. Eleanor Roosevelt It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it. Eleanor Roosevelt - Voice of America broadcast (11 November 1951) It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan. Eleanor Roosevelt It takes courage to love, but pain through love is the purifying fire which those who love generously know. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (1 April 1939) Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both. Eleanor Roosevelt Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself. Eleanor Roosevelt Life must be lived and curiosity kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life. Eleanor Roosevelt

Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life. Eleanor Roosevelt - Preface to The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt (1961) Little by little it dawned upon me that this law was not making people drink any less, but it was making hypocrites and law breakers of a great number of people. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (14 July 1939) Long ago, I made up my mind that when things were said involving only me, I would pay no attention to them, except when valid criticism was carried by which I could profit. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (14 January 1942) Marriage and the up-bringing of children in the home require as well-trained a mind and as well-disciplined a character as any other occupation that might be considered a career. Eleanor Roosevelt My experience has been that work is almost the best way to pull oneself out of the depths. Eleanor Roosevelt Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes. Eleanor Roosevelt No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt - This Is My Story (1937) No one from the beginning of time has had security. Eleanor Roosevelt No writing has any real value which is not the expression of genuine thought and feeling. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (20 December 1939) Nothing we learn in this world is ever wasted. Eleanor Roosevelt Old age has deformities enough of its own. It should never add to them the deformity of vice. Eleanor Roosevelt Once your children are grown up and have children of their own, the problems are theirs and the less the older generation interferes the better. Eleanor Roosevelt One of the best ways of enslaving a people is to keep them from education.... The second way of enslaving a people is to suppress the sources of information, not only by burning books but by controlling all the other ways in which ideas are transmitted. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (11 May 1943)

One of the blessings of age is to learn not to part on a note of sharpness, to treasure the moments spent with those we love, and to make them whenever possible good to remember, for time is short. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (5 February 1943) One should always sleep in all of one's guest beds, to make sure that they are comfortable. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (11 September 1941) One thing is sure none of the arts flourishes on censorship and repression. And by this time it should be evident that the American public is capable of doing its own censoring. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (29 October 1947) One thing life has taught me: if you are interested, you never have to look for new interests. They come to you. When you are genuinely interested in one thing, it will always lead to something else. Eleanor Roosevelt - You Learn by Living (1960) One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes.... In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility. Eleanor Roosevelt - You Learn by Living (1960) Only a man's character is the real criterion of worth. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (22 August 1944) People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built. Eleanor Roosevelt Probably the happiest period in life most frequently is in middle age, when the eager passions of youth are cooled, and the infirmities of age not yet begun; as we see that the shadows, which are at morning and evening so large, almost entirely disappear at midday. Eleanor Roosevelt Remember always that you have not only the right to be an individual; you have an obligation to be one. Eleanor Roosevelt So much attention is paid to the aggressive sins, such as violence and cruelty and greed with all their tragic effects, that too little attention is paid to the passive sins, such as apathy and laziness, which in the long run can have a more devastating effect. Eleanor Roosevelt So, after all, we are but puppets, creatures of our fate, not commanding it but being molded by it. Eleanor Roosevelt Sometimes I wonder if we shall ever grow up in our politics and say definite things which mean something, or whether we shall always go on using generalities to which

everyone can subscribe, and which mean very little. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (1 July 1940) y The film industry is a great industry with infinite possibilities for good and bad. Its primary purpose is to entertain people. On the side, it can do many other things. It can popularize certain ideals, it can make education palatable. But in the long run, the judge who decides whether what it does is good or bad is the man or woman who attends the movies. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (29 October 1947) The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Eleanor Roosevelt The giving of love is an education in itself. Eleanor Roosevelt The only advantage of not being too good a housekeeper is that your guests are so pleased to feel how very much better they are. Eleanor Roosevelt The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything. Eleanor Roosevelt The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience. Eleanor Roosevelt There are practical little things in housekeeping which no man really understands. Eleanor Roosevelt There is a widespread understanding among the people of this nation, and probably among the people of the world, that there is no safety except through the prevention of war. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (20 December 1961) There never has been security. No man has ever known what he would meet around the next corner; if life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor. Eleanor Roosevelt - Tomorrow Is Now (1963) To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. Eleanor Roosevelt To me who dreamed so much as a child, who made a dreamworld in which I was the heroine of an unending story, the lives of people around me continued to have a certain storybook quality. I learned something which has stood me in good stead many times: The most important thing in any relationship is not what you get but what you give. Eleanor Roosevelt - Preface to The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt (1961) Too often the great decisions are originated and given form in bodies made up wholly of men, or so completely dominated by them that whatever of special value women

have to offer is shunted aside without expression. Eleanor Roosevelt y y Understanding is a two-way street. Eleanor Roosevelt Up to a certain point it is good for us to know that there are people in the world who will give us love and unquestioned loyalty to the limit of their ability. I doubt, however, if it is good for us to feel assured of this without the accompanying obligation of having to justify this devotion by our behavior. Eleanor Roosevelt - This Is My Story (1937) We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care at all. Eleanor Roosevelt We face the future fortified with the lessons we have learned from the past. It is today that we must create the world of the future. Eleanor Roosevelt - Tomorrow Is Now (1963) We have to face the fact that either all of us are going to die together or we are going to learn to live together and if we are to live together we have to talk. Eleanor Roosevelt We must know what we think and speak out, even at the risk of unpopularity. Eleanor Roosevelt - Tomorrow Is Now (1963) What one has to do usually can be done. Eleanor Roosevelt What we must learn to do is to create unbreakable bonds between the sciences and the humanities. We cannot procrastinate. The world of the future is in our making. Tomorrow is now. Eleanor Roosevelt - Tomorrow Is Now (1963) What you don't do can be a destructive force. Eleanor Roosevelt When all is said and done, and statesmen discuss the future of the world, the fact remains that people fight these wars. Eleanor Roosevelt When life is too easy for us, we must beware or we may not be ready to meet the blows which sooner or later come to everyone, rich or poor. Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (23 February 1940) When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it? Eleanor Roosevelt When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die. Eleanor Roosevelt When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on. Eleanor Roosevelt

When you have decided what you believe, what you feel must be done, have the courage to stand alone and be counted. Eleanor Roosevelt When you know to laugh and when to look upon things as too absurd to take seriously, the other person is ashamed to carry through even if he was serious about it. Eleanor Roosevelt Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world. Eleanor Roosevelt Will people ever be wise enough to refuse to follow bad leaders or to take away the freedom of other people? Eleanor Roosevelt - My Day (16 October 1939) With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. Eleanor Roosevelt Women are like tea bags, they don't know how strong they are until they get into hot water. Eleanor Roosevelt You always admire what you really don't understand. Eleanor Roosevelt You can't move so fast that you try to change the mores faster than people can accept it. That doesn't mean you do nothing, but it means that you do the things that need to be done according to priority. Eleanor Roosevelt You gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face.... You must do the thing you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt - You Learn by Living (1960) You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." You must do the thing you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt - You Learn by Living (1960) You get more joy out of the giving to others, and should put a good deal of thought into the happiness you are able to give. Eleanor Roosevelt You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give. Eleanor Roosevelt You must do the thing you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt

You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do. Eleanor Roosevelt