Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was the first lady longer than any other first lady in US history. She was born in 1884, the niece of former President Theodore Roosevelt. She married Franklin (who was her fifth cousin) in 1905, and the couple had six children. She was active in a variety of volunteer organizations, like the Red Cross and the League of Women Voters. She was also part of the Women's Trade Union League and worked for the Women's Division of the New York State Democratic Committee.
While in the White House, Roosevelt was the first first lady to hold her own press conference. Even better: she only allowed women reporters to come to the event in an effort to put women first at a time when inequality ran rampant.
She was also incredibly active in her husband's presidency, traveling around the country to identify concerns that needed their help. She also penned a newspaper column called "My Day," which explored important issues affecting the country and was nationally syndicated in over 90 newspapers, from the time she entered the White House until the time she died. She was appointed to the United Nations General Assembly by former President Harry Truman after her husband died and continued her tireless work for the country.
She died in 1962 and is buried next to her husband in New York.
