The surprising life of FDR
Why did he work late into the night? 10 surprising facts about FDR
Image: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
You probably know Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the president who guided America through the Great Depression and World War II, launched the New Deal, and helped create Social Security. But that's only part of the story. This was also the president who served hot dogs to the British royal family, became the first commander in chief to fly while in office, relied on lucky charms, and never lost his love of practical jokes. He was related to more presidents than you might realize and had a few surprising quirks that rarely make it into history books. Here are 10 fascinating facts about FDR that they didn't teach you in school.
1
He served hot dogs to British Royalty
In 1939, for the first time ever, a sitting US president hosted the reigning British monarchs on American soil. And it wasn’t just a formal state meeting; it was a picnic.
On June 11 of that year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt welcomed King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to their home in Hyde Park, New York. Instead of an elaborate diplomatic banquet, the menu was unexpectedly simple and quintessentially American: hot dogs and beer. According to FDR, the queen politely tried hers with a knife and fork, while the king ate several with his hands and seemed to enjoy them. Behind the scenes, the visit was more than symbolic, yet folksy hospitality. With war already looming in Europe, both sides were quietly strengthening ties that would soon become crucial during WWII.
2
The first sitting president to fly on a plane
While FDR made history in many ways, one of his lesser-known firsts took place thousands of feet above the ground.
On January 11, 1943, in the middle of WWII, he became the first sitting US president to fly in an airplane. At a time when air travel was still far from routine, he embarked on a secret 7,000-mile journey from Miami, Florida, to Bathurst, Gambia, before continuing to Casablanca, Morocco. The trip wasn't taken for leisure; German U-boats had made Atlantic sea travel risky, so Roosevelt crossed the ocean aboard a Boeing 314 flying boat known as the Dixie Clipper . His destination was the Casablanca Conference, where he met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to discuss wartime strategy.
3
Highly superstitious
Are you the type to knock on wood to avoid bad luck? Or would you walk under a ladder without a second thought? If you're in the first group, you would have fit right in with Franklin D. Roosevelt.
FDR famously declared that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself," but he also had a surprisingly superstitious side. According to people who worked with him in the White House, Roosevelt kept his desk and personal items arranged in a precise order that he believed brought good luck. He also disliked the number 13: family members and aides recalled that he avoided hosting dinners with 13 guests and was reluctant to begin important trips on Friday the 13th. He even had a lucky charm, a brown felt fedora that he wore during all four of his presidential campaigns. We can't say it didn't work.
4
He loved practical jokes
With all his responsibilities, talents, and interests, FDR still found time to joke around.
According to his biographers, Roosevelt loved practical jokes and kept his playful streak throughout his life, even pulling pranks well into his presidency. In the tense world of politics, that sense of humor became one of his trademarks. He enjoyed classic gags, including putting bubbling powder in drinking glasses to surprise White House guests, or slipping completely made-up words into conversations and then watching with delight as his staff scrambled to check the dictionary. Friends and aides also noted that he had a unique ability to laugh off rumors, criticism, and political attacks that might have rattled other leaders.
5
Peculiar work schedules
Jokes didn't distract FDR from his work. If anything, they helped him cope, and he certainly had plenty of work to do. In fact, Roosevelt was known for his unusual working hours.
Unlike many other presidents who were early risers, he often worked late into the night and typically didn't begin his day until around 9 am. During WWII, while overseeing a global conflict, he regularly spent his evenings reviewing reports, making decisions, and meeting with advisers long after most Americans had gone to bed. What makes this even more impressive is that he maintained this pace as his health steadily declined. Doctors urged him to slow down and limit his workload, but Roosevelt frequently ignored that advice. For a wartime commander-in-chief, there was always one more decision to make.
6
He appointed the first female cabinet member
Among his many historic firsts, FDR was the inaugural POTUS to appoint a woman to a Cabinet position, a decision that reflected both his political instincts and his willingness to recognize talent and intelligence where he found it.
In 1933, he chose labor advocate Frances Perkins as Secretary of Labor. It turned out to be one of the most consequential appointments of his presidency. Perkins served from 1933 to 1945, making her the longest-serving Secretary of Labor in American history. And as if that weren't enough, she became one of the chief designers of the New Deal.
7
11 presidential relatives
Most people know that Franklin D. Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt were related: the 32nd president was a distant cousin of the 26th. But few realize just how extensive FDR’s presidential family tree really was.
In fact, genealogists have traced Franklin Roosevelt’s family connections to at least 11 US presidents. FDR was not only related to Theodore Roosevelt and his own wife, Eleanor Roosevelt (his fifth cousin once removed), but also to an impressive number of other commanders in chief. Among those connected to him by blood were George Washington (with whom he shared ancestors from English nobility and the early settlers of Virginia), John Adams, John Quincy Adams, James Madison, and William Harrison. Through marriage and extended family ties, he was also related to Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Martin Van Buren, and William Howard Taft.
8
His illness may not have been polio
As is well known, FDR was struck by a serious illness in 1921 at age 39 that left him permanently unable to walk unaided. But during his presidency, he worked hard to keep public attention focused on his leadership rather than on his body, so while Americans understood he had been diagnosed with polio, few knew about the paralysis.
To stand at public events, Roosevelt relied on heavy steel leg braces and canes that helped him project confidence and strength throughout his presidency. However, although doctors at the time diagnosed him with polio, some modern medical researchers have suggested that his symptoms may have been more consistent with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a rare autoimmune disorder.
9
He didn’t graduate from law school
FDR was a bright and curious man who threw himself into subjects that fascinated him, but when something failed to hold his interest, he wasn't afraid to move on.
After earning a History degree from Harvard University in 1903, he enrolled at Columbia Law School, but he found that he simply didn't enjoy it. According to the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, Roosevelt showed little enthusiasm for the legal profession, and maybe that’s why he never achieved a Law degree. Even so, he passed the New York bar exam and began practicing after it, but the experiment lasted only a few years. Then, in 1910, an opportunity came along that interested him far more: local Democrats in New York asked him to run for the state Senate. Roosevelt eagerly accepted, and his political career was underway.
10
Expert in many fields
Politics and wartime strategy weren't FDR's only talents. Long before he entered the White House, he acquired a deep interest in nature.
Growing up in Dutchess County, New York, Roosevelt developed a fascination with birds that went far beyond a childhood hobby. By age 11, he was already learning taxidermy, eventually becoming a skilled self-taught naturalist and bird expert. Over the years, he identified and cataloged roughly 300 bird species. His detailed field journals and collection of more than 300 Dutchess County specimens are still considered some of the most complete records of local bird life from that era.
