Roosevelt, Franklin Delano

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (1884-1945), President of the United States.

At the age of thirty-nine, Franklin D. Roosevelt was seriously ill with poliomyelitis and this left him with crippled legs. In spite of this, he became President of the United States in 1933 and he held the job for twelve years, longer than any other man.

In his first year as President, one quarter of the workers in the United States had no jobs. Things had gone wrong with business and the banks, and Roosevelt had the task of helping his country to become strong and rich again.

He was President throughout the Second World War (1939-45) and he left the United States many times to meet other war leaders.

His most famous meeting was at Yalta in South Russia in 1945 with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. At this meeting, the three leaders made plans for the final attack on Germany and the peace. A few weeks after it, Roosevelt collapsed and died.

See Franklin Delano Roosevelt ~ Alan Brinkley