Discover the Unforgettable: Top 11 Fun Facts About Eleanor Roosevelt You Never Knew!

1. Pilot Eleanor and Amelia Earhart

Preparing for takeoff, First-Lady style: Eleanor Roosevelt was the epitome of a daring dame, soaring through the skies in a bomber deemed too treacherous for her husband, President Roosevelt, even seizing the controls alongside Amelia Earhart on a journey between Washington, DC and Baltimore. Yet, despite her high-flying adventures, she never secured a pilot's license.
Source => pioneersofflight.si.edu

2. Radio Star First Lady

Whoever said radio killed the First Lady star never met Eleanor Roosevelt: She forged new paths for women and civil rights as the first First Lady to hold press conferences and radio broadcasts while putting her passport to good use by tirelessly traveling the globe to advocate for human rights and social justice causes.
Source => washingtonpost.com

Did you know Franklin D. Roosevelt was a stamp-collecting enthusiast during his presidency? He even collaborated on designs and attended stamp shows! Discover his fascinating philatelic legacy that now resides in the National Postal Museum.📬💡

=> Fun Facts about Franklin-D-Roosevelt

3. Queen of Exclusive Journalism

Move over, Oprah's Book Club: Eleanor Roosevelt was the OG Queen of exclusive journalism get-togethers! During her husband's presidency, she held 348 weekly press conferences just for women reporters, covering women-centric topics and eventually expanding to political news and public policy.
Source => womenshistory.org

4. Blueprint Creator for Global Village

Before Eleanor Roosevelt was busy dropping knowledge-bombs on the world stage, she was gleefully crafting a blueprint for a global village where everyone plays nice: Eleanor played a pivotal role in creating the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and drafting the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Her tireless efforts championing individual rights, economic rights, and equality shaped the international standards still in use today.
Source => billofrightsinstitute.org

5. Standing Up to Segregationists

When Eleanor Roosevelt wasn't busy serving tea and side-eyes, she was sending seismic waves of change: She resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution after their denial of black singer Marian Anderson's performance at Constitution Hall and then invited Anderson to sing for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in a spectacular White House event, effectively giving the DAR and segregationists a royal facepalm.
Source => whitehousehistory.org

6. Bossing the World for Human Rights

Before Beyoncé was 'running the world', Eleanor Roosevelt was bossing the globe for human rights: She served as the first Chairperson of the UN Human Rights Commission, played a crucial role in drafting the International Bill of Human Rights, and received the UN Human Rights Prize posthumously in 1968.
Source => research.un.org

7. First Lady of Broadcasting

Move over, podcast queens, the original First Lady of broadcasting had the airwaves crackling in her time: Eleanor Roosevelt hosted eight commercial radio shows during her tenure, spreading word of FDR's New Deal, raising war awareness, and supporting WWII's home front efforts, all while smashing gender norms and earning up to $3,000 per appearance, often donating the proceeds to her favorite charities.
Source => apmreports.org

8. Fashion Diplomacy

In the very fibers of her being, Eleanor Roosevelt was quite literally fashioning diplomacy: Unperturbed by her critics, the First Lady adorned herself in the works of local designers and artisans during foreign visits, celebrating various cultures' unique styles and traditions through her garments.
Source => life.com

9. Microphone-Grabbing First Lady

While most First Ladies prefer to stay in the wings and sip tea, Eleanor Roosevelt flipped the script and grabbed the microphone, becoming the MC of her generation: She was the first to hold press conferences, wrote daily newspaper columns, monthly magazine columns, hosted a weekly radio show, and even dared to disagree with her husband's policies in public.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

10. Bench-Pressing Labor Laws

Before she was rocking the "Rosie the Riveter" vibes and bench pressing labor laws, our favorite First Lady flexed her political muscles in style: Eleanor Roosevelt championed the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 which set the minimum wage, maximum work week, and prohibited child labor in the United States, using her platform to influence positive change.
Source => teachingamericanhistory.org

11. True Queen of Empowerment

Step aside, Beyoncé; there's a true queen of empowerment that ruled the White House long before your reign: Eleanor Roosevelt not only transformed the role of First Lady with unprecedented press conferences, lectures, and radio broadcasts, but she also penned a daily syndicated newspaper column called "My Day" to candidly express her opinions, earning love and admiration from the likes of world leaders to WWII servicemen.
Source => whitehouse.gov