1001 People Who Made America - Alan Axelrod [110]
Roosevelt, Eleanor (1884–1962) Roosevelt married her distant cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, on March 17, 1905, and gave birth to six children (one died in infancy). She was her husband’s political partner and, after he was stricken with polio in 1921, was indispensable to his recovery. Throughout FDR’s political career, Eleanor Roosevelt was an activist in social and humanitarian causes. After her husband’s death in 1945, she served as a United Nations delegate. Eleanor Roosevelt was a woman of great influence, who was internationally admired.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (1882–1945) Roosevelt was the scion of a prominent New York family who overcame the paralytic effects of polio (contracted in 1921) to become governor of New York and president of the United States for an unprecedented four terms, from 1933 to 1945. Not since Abraham Lincoln had a president faced more serious crises in office, beginning with the Great Depression (which he addressed with the New Deal and other social legislation and programs) and World War II (in which he emerged as a great wartime leader). FDR extensively expanded the role and powers of the federal government and was held in great esteem and affection by a majority of the American people. Most historians judge him to be the greatest president of the 20th century.
Roosevelt, Theodore (1858–1919) One of the American giants of the early 20th century, Roosevelt was an author, a rancher, a naturalist, a big game hunter, a soldier, New York City police commissioner, navy secretary, governor of New York, political reformer, vice president, and, from 1901 to 1909, president of the United States. When he entered the Oval Office in 1901 upon the assassination of William McKinley, he expanded the powers of the chief executive and the federal government, championed government intervention for the public interest, favored the rights of labor over big business, fought the “trusts” (monopolistic business practices), championed the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1903, and transformed the nation into a major world power. An ardent conservationist, TR created the National Park system. He initiated construction of the Panama Canal, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1906 for his role in mediating an end to the Russo-Japanese War.
Root, Elihu (1845–1937) Root was secretary of war under William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt from 1899 to 1903, responsible for creating governments for the territory ceded by Spain to the U.S. as a result of the Spanish-American War (1898) and for reorganizing and reforming the U.S. Army. As Roosevelt’s secretary of state from 1905 to 1909, he concluded agreements by which Japan pledged to respect the Open Door Policy in China, and he negotiated arbitration treaties with more than 20 nations. For his contributions to peace and “general world harmony,” Root was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1912.
Roper, Elmo (1900–1971) Roper developed a scientific poll for political and public opinion forecasting.
Rose, Pete (1941– ) Nicknamed Charlie Hustle, Rose broke Ty Cobb’s record for career hits (4,191) in 1985 and was recognized as well for his all-around skill and enthusiasm at play. Rose’s career total of hits was an astronomical 4,256, and he set records for most games played (3,562), most times at bat (14,053), and most seasons with 200 hits or more (10). He was denied a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame as a result of a 1989 baseball commission decision banning him from the game for life because of illegal gambling on the sport.
Rosenberg, Julius and Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg (1918–1953 and 1915–1953) On June 19, 1953, Julius Rosenberg and his wife, Ethel, became the first American civilians to be executed for espionage. Julius, a member of the Communist party, had been employed as an engineer