Happy Birthday Eleanor Roosevelt, “The First Lady Of The World”

She was plain, some would call her frumpy.  She was tall for her age and felt awkward in public.  She referred to herself as "an ugly duckling."  She married a distant cousin. She was 20, he was 25 when they got married on St. Patrick's Day, 1905.  His mother was aghast at the union.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)  was a partner to her husband in all his activities.  Franklin D. Roosevelt lived a life in politics, a life Mrs. Roosevelt enjoyed with great fervor.  As the longest serving First Lady she traveled more than a million miles around the world meeting dignitaries, ordinary people and, most notably, G.I.s serving in World War II.

After her husband died in office in 1945, Eleanor carved out her own life as a best-selling author, a much in demand public speaker and an advisor to the highest ranking leaders of her beloved Democratic Party.  She even served as a U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.

Her accomplishments were innumerable.  She was voted eleven times as "The Most Beloved Woman in the World."  Three U.S. presidents attended her funeral in Hyde Park, N.Y., as well as 15,000 mourners.

Harry Truman dubbed her "The First Lady of the World."

We remember this legendary American today on her birthday October 11.