Discover the Unexpected: Top 8 Entertaining Facts About Franklin D. Roosevelt You Never Knew!

1. FDR: Stamp Collector Extraordinaire

Move over Hallmark, there's a new card connoisseur in town: Franklin D. Roosevelt was an avid stamp collector during his presidency, dedicating daily time to his collection, collaborating on stamp designs with the Postmaster General, and associating with stamp shows. After his death, his extensive philatelic treasures, including U.S. die proofs, full sheets, and worldwide stamps were auctioned off, with some sketches finding a new home at the National Postal Museum.
Source => postalmuseum.si.edu

2. Boozy Grilled Cheese for the President

When he wasn't busy cooking up a New Deal, FDR liked to keep his meals simple and cheesy, spicing things up only when it came to his beloved boozy grilled cheese: Franklin D. Roosevelt's favorite dishes included scrambled eggs, fish chowder, and fruitcake, but it was his penchant for grilled cheese sandwiches with bourbon caramelized onions that made for a presidential guilty pleasure, as captured in Henrietta Nesbitt's book "The Presidential Cookbook," where she was the White House housekeeper during his administration.
Source => thehistoricalhomemaker.com

Can you imagine losing your wife and mother within hours of each other? Discover how Theodore Roosevelt faced this unthinkable tragedy and still became one of the most iconic presidents! 🎩💔

=> Fun Facts about Theodore-Roosevelt

3. Eleanor's Power-Nap Secret

Eleanor Roosevelt, professional power-napper and part-time First Lady, knew that the key to stealing the show was forty winks and a dream: Perking up before each speaking engagement, she revitalized her energy with a quick nap, ensuring she always delivered an electrifying performance.
Source => linkedin.com

4. FDR's Pimped-Out Ride

Before hot wheels and wheelchair-accessible vehicles were all the rage, FDR had his ride pimped out like no other: Franklin D. Roosevelt owned a custom Ford Phaeton with hand controls, designed by mechanic Fred Relyea, which allowed him to drive despite his disability. This historic car, used by Eleanor Roosevelt after FDR's passing, clocked 19,143 miles before being gifted to the museum and becoming part of the Digital Artifact Collection.
Source => fdrlibraryvirtualtour.org

5. Fala: Furry Commander-in-Chief

One might call Fala, Franklin D. Roosevelt's notorious Scottish Terrier, the original "furry commander-in-chief," with a penchant for stealing the limelight and even sneaking into some crucial military ranks: Fala served as an honorary private in the U.S. Army and frequently accompanied the president everywhere, becoming a media darling of the time and even earning the prestigious accolade of being the lone presidential pet to boast not one but two statues—one alongside FDR at Washington D.C.'s Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and another at Puerto Rico's "Paseo de los Presidentes" in San Juan.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

6. FDR: Radio Star of the Nation

Don't touch that dial, folks! FDR might not have been the pioneer of presidential podcasting, but he sure knew how to spin a yarn over the airwaves: While Warren G. Harding first went live from the White House in 1921 and Herbert Hoover had his share of radio time, it was Franklin D. Roosevelt's fireside chats that truly forged a connection with the American people through conversational language and relatable storytelling, earning him a high-frequency reputation as the nation's in-house radio star.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

7. Teddy Roosevelt's Lion Hunting Spree

Before "The Lion King" was breaking hearts and ticket sale records, Teddy Roosevelt was busy racking up his own lion count – in the hundreds, no less: In 1909, Theodore Roosevelt embarked on a year-long African safari where he and his son Kermit collected over 1,100 specimens for the Smithsonian Institution, including 500 big game animals, with a hunting spree that saw them taking down 512 beasts, including 17 lions, 11 elephants, and 20 rhinoceroses.
Source => eyewitnesstohistory.com

8. FDR: The Multilingual President

Who needs Rosetta Stone when you've got European governesses on speed dial? FDR, the master linguist: Franklin D. Roosevelt was fluent in French and German, thanks to his international upbringing, with a side skill of understanding Latin for those ancient Roman dinner parties.
Source => en.wikipedia.org