Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving US president and the only one to have served more than two terms. His first two terms focused on combating the Great Depression, while his third and fourth centered on US involvement in World War II. A member of the Democratic Party, he had earlier served in the New York State Senate and as governor of New York, where he promoted programs to counter the economic crisis.
Early life and education
Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York, into the wealthy Roosevelt and Delano families, and grew up in a sheltered, aristocratic setting with frequent trips to Europe. He was educated by tutors at home before attending Groton School, where headmaster Endicott Peabody encouraged students to enter public service. He then went to Harvard College, where he was relatively undistinguished as a student or athlete but became editor-in-chief of The Harvard Crimson. His cousin Theodore Roosevelt, who became president in 1901, served as a role model for his own later ambitions.
Marriage and family
In 1905 Roosevelt married Eleanor Roosevelt, a niece of Theodore Roosevelt, and the couple had six children. Their marriage was marked by Roosevelt's extramarital affairs, including a relationship with Lucy Mercer that Eleanor discovered in 1918. Afterward the marriage became more of a political partnership, and Eleanor established a separate home at Val-Kill in Hyde Park.