Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) was born into an affluent family but both of her parents died before she was nine years old. After an unhappy childhood she attended a finishing school in London. Somewhere along the way, Eleanor was transformed into a woman of great determination and leadership.
As the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt she revolutionized the role of First Lady by becoming an activist. Eleanor excelled in serving others as a humanitarian and civic leader. She toiled hard for the benefit of youth, black Americans, poor people, and women.
Following her husband's death, Eleanor Roosevelt continued her activism by becoming a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly; in 1948 she drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She wrote several books on her experiences and died in 1962 at the age of 78.
To Name This Day:
Quotes
In celebration of Eleanor Roosevelt's birthday, using these quotes by her as inspiration, make an honest assessment of how you can best move into the future with passion, creativity, and courage.
- Facing Fear
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
- Act from the Heart
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. "
- Don't Give In
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
- Building Character
"People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built."
- Meet Everything with Courage
"You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give."
