Daily Almanac for
May 12, 2008
Info search tips
Bio search tips

History and GovernmentCongressional BiographiesNew York

ROOSEVELT, Franklin Delano, Jr.

(1914—1988)


ROOSEVELT, Franklin Delano, Jr., (son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and brother of James Roosevelt), a Representative from New York; born in Campobello, New Brunswick, Canada, August 17, 1914; graduated from Groton School, Groton, Mass., 1933; graduated from Harvard University, 1937; graduated from the University of Virginia Law School at Charlottesville, 1940; was admitted to the bar in 1942; was called from the Naval Reserve on March 13, 1941, to active duty as an ensign in the United States Navy and served in North Africa, Europe, and the Pacific; discharged from active duty in January 1946; awarded the Purple Heart Medal and the Silver Star; lawyer, private practice; vice president of President Truman’s Committee on Civil Rights in 1947 and 1948; chairman of mayor’s committee on unity in New York City in 1948 and 1949; delegate to Democratic National Conventions in 1952 and 1956; elected as a Liberal Party candidate to the Eighty-first Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative Sol Bloom (May 17, 1949-January 3, 1951); changed from a Liberal to a Democrat on January 3, 1951; elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-second Congress and to the succeeding Congress (January 3, 1951-January 3, 1955); was not a candidate for renomination in 1954, but was unsuccessful for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination; unsuccessful candidate for election for attorney general of New York in 1954; engaged in the automobile import business in 1958; appointed by President Kennedy as chairman of Appalachian Regional Commission, 1963; appointed by President Kennedy as Undersecretary of Commerce, 1963; appointed by President Johnson as first Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1965; unsuccessful candidate for Governor of New York State for Liberal Party in 1966; businessman and farmer; died on August 17, 1988, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; interment in St. James Episcopal Church, Hyde Park, N.Y.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present

Related Links

    • Cite
    • Print
    • Bookmark