Born into a wealthy family, Franklin Roosevelt entered politics because he believed it offered great opportunity for public service. Before he was elected President, he served in the New York State Senate, as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and as Governor of New York. Although he was crippled by polio at the age of 39, he refused to give up his career of public service. A little more than 11 years after being stricken, he was elected President of the United States.

Chronology of His Life and Career

	1882, January 30	Born in Hyde Park, New York
	1896-1900	Attended the Groton School
	1903	Graduated from Harvard University
	1904	Entered Columbia University Law School
	1905, March 17	Married Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
	1907	Passed the New York bar examination
	1910	Elected to the New York State Senate
	1913	Appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy
	1914	Made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate
	1920	Made an unsuccessful bid for Vice-President of the United States
	1921	Stricken with polio
	1927	Established the Warm Springs Foundation
	1928	Elected Governor of New York
	1932	Elected President of the United States
	1945, April 12	Died in Warm Springs, Georgia

Official Websites

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu
Home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt National Historic Site www.nps.gov/hofr

See Also

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

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This page was last updated on January 30, 2019.