About the Author

Eleanor Roosevelt was First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. Dramatically changing the role of the first lady, she held press conferences and had her own newspaper column. After her husband’s death in 1945, she was selected to be a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly, serving from 1945 to 1953. She also became the chair of the UN’s Human Rights Commission and helped to write the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. President John F. Kennedy made her a delegate to the United Nations in 1961 and selected her to serve as chair of the Commission on the Status of Women. Eleanor died of cancer on November 7, 1962.