As first lady, Roosevelt held 348 press conferences open only to female reporters

Roosevelt transformed the role of the first lady of the United States

Eleanor Roosevelt diverged from the traditional expectations of the role—holding her own press conferences, writing a daily column, traveling the country on her own schedule, and taking public stances on controversial political issues. Many subsequent first ladies have modeled their use of the position after her example.

Explore Eleanor Roosevelt's marriage to FDR, their partnership, and her work after his death

Eleanor Roosevelt revolutionized the role of first lady by holding regular press conferences and hosting a radio show. This podcast features her discussions about their relationship, how she handled policy disagreements with FDR, and her role in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the UN.

Many historians believe Eleanor Roosevelt had a romantic relationship with Lorena Hickok, a female journalist

Roosevelt and AP reporter Lorena Hickok exchanged over 3,000 deeply affectionate letters, many written twice daily. Hickok lived in a room near Eleanor's in the White House for several years. Biographers who have examined their correspondence conclude it was a true-love relationship.

The FBI surveilled Roosevelt for decades, suspicious of her civil rights and political work

J. Edgar Hoover's FBI maintained a large file on Eleanor Roosevelt, monitoring her involvement with civil rights groups, connections to progressive causes, and vocal opposition to McCarthyism. Although a formal investigation was never initiated, Hoover regarded her as a person of interest for most of her adult life.

Roosevelt left a White House dinner to fly over Washington with Amelia Earhart

In April 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt and Amelia Earhart flew on a round trip from Washington to Baltimore in their evening gowns. Roosevelt, who had a long-standing interest in flying, had recently earned her student pilot's license.

Edith Roosevelt's White House redesign created the modern West Wing

In 1902, first lady Edith Roosevelt oversaw a significant renovation that separated the family residence from official offices. Architect Charles McKim added the West Wing to house the president's staff—establishing the modern layout still used today.

After FDR was paralyzed by polio in 1921, Eleanor Roosevelt became active in politics and supported his political ambitions

FDR contracted polio at age 39 and permanently lost the use of his legs. Eleanor Roosevelt persuaded him to stay in politics, then took on the task of maintaining his public profile—attending events, building relationships, and serving as his "eyes, ears, and legs" across the country.

President Harry Truman appointed Roosevelt as one of the first US delegates to the United Nations

After FDR's death in 1945, Roosevelt joined the delegation to the newly established United Nations. She was the only woman among the General Assembly delegates and was unanimously elected to chair the UN Commission on Human Rights.

Eleanor Roosevelt sheltered student activists at the White House after they were subpoenaed by HUAC

In 1939, when Congress subpoenaed leaders of the American Youth Congress on suspicion of communist ties, Eleanor Roosevelt attended the hearings herself and then invited all 10 students to stay at the White House, as they had nowhere to sleep.

JFK appointed Roosevelt to chair the President's Commission on the Status of Women

Established in 1961, the commission issued a landmark report in 1963 exposing widespread discrimination against women in employment and government.

Eleanor Roosevelt's son wrote mystery novels starring his mother

Elliott Roosevelt wrote 20 novels about a fictional version of his mother, an amateur detective. Titles included "Murder and the First Lady," "The White House Pantry Murder," and "New Deal for Death."

Franklin D. Roosevelt used radio to connect directly with Americans through his 'Fireside Chats'

Beginning in 1933, FDR harnessed the new medium of radio to explain policies and reassure the public during the Great Depression and World War II. His conversational fireside chats revolutionized presidential communication.

President Theodore Roosevelt walked Eleanor Roosevelt down the aisle at her wedding to Franklin D. Roosevelt

Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, her fifth cousin once removed, were married on St. Patrick's Day in 1905. Because both of her parents had died, her uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt, accompanied her down the aisle. The wedding was a notable social event among NYC elites.

Roosevelt wrote a nationally syndicated newspaper column 6 days a week for 27 years

Roosevelt's My Day column was launched in late 1935 and ran nearly every day until shortly before her death in 1962. It began as an account of her daily life but grew into one of the most widely read opinion columns in the country, with 4 million readers at its peak.

Roosevelt resigned from a prominent women's organization after it barred a Black singer from performing

When the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow Marian Anderson to perform at their Washington hall in 1939 because she was Black, Roosevelt publicly cut ties with the group. She worked to arrange an alternative outdoor concert for Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial, which drew a crowd of 75,000.

Eleanor Roosevelt was orphaned by age 10

Roosevelt's mother died when Eleanor was 8, and her father died two years later. Orphaned before she turned 10, Eleanor moved in with her maternal grandmother in New York and was raised by the emotionally distant woman.

Frances Perkins was the first woman in the US to hold a cabinet position

President Franklin D. Roosevelt named her the United States Secretary of Labor in 1933. In her cabinet seat, she not only helped establish the first federal minimum wage in the US, but also the Social Security Act.

Adams was so involved as first lady that some nicknamed her 'Mrs. President'

As first lady, Adams took an active role in her husband's presidency—advising on appointments, critiquing his speeches, and corresponding extensively with politicians. She supported the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts and pressed for war with France during the XYZ Affair.

The White House correspondents' dinner has brought presidents and the press together for over a century

The annual dinner was started by White House journalists in 1921, and presidents have been attending since 1924. In recent years, the event has become known for its comedy, typically featuring a comedian who roasts the commander-in-chief.

Jacqueline Kennedy's 1962 White House tour drew 80 million viewers worldwide

Broadcast simultaneously on CBS and NBC, and a few days later on ABC, the first lady's televised tour introduced the restored White House to an audience of between 50 million and 80 million. The program elevated public appreciation of American history and the significance of the White House.

See what it's like to work at the White House

Anita McBride discusses her experience working at the White House across three presidential administrations. She began in 1984 as a correspondence analyst, reading mail, and later served as chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush from 2005 to 2009.

Women work harder for Pulitzers

While the Pulitzers have never been segregated by gender, a 2012 study by the University of Missouri found female winners required significantly more elite credentials—Ivy League degrees, experience at top newspapers, and the like—than their male counterparts. Similar credentials are also overrepresented in the category of international reporting, suggesting the award favors those with more privileged upbringings.

Publicist Lois Whitman claims she’s worked at every CES since 1967

The colorful PR leader argues in this impromptu, amateur video interview that she has worked at the event since its inception in New York City. A search around the internet revealed she’s not the most well-regarded, as TechCrunch reports issues around using the event’s PR contact list loosely.

Jean Carroll was one of the first women to make a name in stand-up comedy

Carroll cut her teeth in vaudeville alongside Buddy Howe, her husband, who later became her manager. Despite operating in a male-dominated field, she became a popular headliner and was a mainstay as a stand-up on "The Ed Sullivan Show," which led to her own sitcom.

Minnelli dealt with high scrutiny and gossip from the press beginning at a young age

After reaching superstar status by the 1970s, Minnelli was often mired in gossip, with reporters asking questions about nonexistent pregnancies or commenting on her appearance. Thanks to her upbringing in the industry, she often took these interactions in stride.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

Explore what it's like inside a patient isolation unit, used in situations such as treating a patient or suspected patient with Ebola.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.