32

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
32nd President of the United States

Franklin D. Roosevelt

1933- 1945

Vice President: John N. Garner (1933-41)
                           Henry A. Wallace (1941-45)
                           Harry S. Truman (1945)
Born: January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York
Died: April 12, 1945, in Warm Springs, Georgia
Career/Occupation: Public Official and Lawyer
Religion: Episcopalian
Education: Graduated from Harvard College (1903); Attended Columbia Law School
Political Party: Democratic
Nickname(s): FDR


Other Government Positions:

• Member of New York State Legislature, 1911-13
• Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1913-20 
• Governor of New York, 1929-33

Presidential Salary: $75,000

Presidential Firsts:

First president to serve more than two terms.

Roosevelt won a record four presidential elections, and served four terms in office from 1933 to 1945. More precisely, Roosevelt served three full terms, and died 2 months and 24 days into his fourth term.

The first president to be inaugurated on January 20 (per the Twentieth Amendment).

His first inauguration took place on March 4, 1933. His second inauguration took place on January 20, 1937 and is the first inauguration to take place on that date.

The first president to be elected after losing as vice president on a major party ticket.

Roosevelt was Democratic nominee for vice president in the 1920 United States presidential election. He was the Democratic nominee for president in 1932 United States presidential election, and was elected.

The first president to appear five times on a national ticket, a record tied by Richard Nixon.

First president to appear on television

On April 30, 1939, Roosevelt appeared at the opening ceremony of the 1939 New York World's Fair and gave a speech. The speech was televised, and Roosevelt became the first president of the United States to give a speech that is broadcast by television. Roosevelt's speech was seen on black and white television sets with 5 to 12-inch tubes.

First president to appoint a woman (Frances Perkins) to a Cabinet post.

Perkins was appointed United States secretary of labor in 1933.

First president to establish a presidential library

First president to veto more than 600 bills.

His total vetoes were 635, though 9 were overridden.

The first president to issue more than 250 pocket vetos. He issued 263 pocket vetoes.

First president to visit South America while in office, he visited Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.

First president to visit the Soviet Union.

First president to fly in an airplane while in office.

The first president to make a transatlantic flight, he traveled aboard a Boeing 314 Clipper during his secret 1943 mission to Casablanca. As a result of this trip, he also became the first president to visit Africa while in office. He visited Morocco, Liberia, Tunisia, Gambia, and Egypt.

The first president to have had no full siblings. He only had a half-brother, James Roosevelt Roosevelt.

First president to receive a British monarch during a visit to the U.S., George VI in 1939.

First president to meet with a king of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Saud in 1945.

The first president to be named Time Man of the Year.

The first president who was a Democrat to die in office.

The first president to have a National Library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration.

The first president to have three vice presidents (John Nance Garner, Henry A. Wallace, & Harry S. Truman).

The first president with a significant physical disability, his legs were paralyzed due to polio.

First president to visit Iran, Haiti, the Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago.