by William A. Harris, Deputy Director Eleanor Roosevelt prepares for the first broadcast of her new NBC radio series, April 30, 1940. (Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress) On April 30, 1940, with little fanfare, Eleanor Roosevelt commenced a new, commercial radio series on NBC. It is hard to imagine in this media era … Continue reading Eleanor Roosevelt’s Own Program, April 30, 1940
By William A. Harris, Deputy Director Movie producer and Academy president Walter Wanger invited the President to speak at the Academy Awards ceremony on February 4th and three weeks later, the President gave his remarks. The above cross reference in the President's files tracks the process. (FDR Library, President's Official File 73, Motion Pictures) With … Continue reading And the Winner Is… FDR and the 13th Academy Awards Ceremony
By William A. Harris, Deputy Director With water at the ready and microphones arrayed before him, the President prepares for a radio address, 1934. (FDR Library, 47-96 1783) This week marks the 88th anniversary of FDR's first "Fireside Chat." Though not identified as such on March 12, 1933, the President's address to the nation marked … Continue reading Celebrating the First Fireside Chat
The formal program to FDR's first inauguration. (FDR Library, Grace Tully Papers) By William A. Harris, Deputy Director With March upon us, it is once again time to celebrate the first inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as FDR himself did almost every year (except 1941 and 1945) of his Presidency. In 1933, FDR became … Continue reading Celebrating the Big Day: FDR’s First Inauguration and the Annual Anniversary Celebrations, 1934-1945
By Kevin Thomas, Archives Technician New York, New York. Raymond [i.e. Raimondo] Fazio and his family receive a belated Christmas package from one of their four sons in the service. This one is in Africa. Fazio is a journalist and lives on East Tenth Street. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division: https://lccn.loc.gov/2017841930. The end … Continue reading The Holiday Season of 1943
By Paul Sparrow, director FDR Library On July 28th, 1943 President Franklin Roosevelt delivered a Fireside Chat to a nation immersed in the deadliest global war in human history that looked to the future. He was pleased to announce that the Italian dictator Mussolini had been arrested. He started his chat saying “Over a year … Continue reading FDR and the GI Bill
By Paul M. Sparrow - Director, FDR Library Franklin Roosevelt collected more than 5,000 maritime prints, paintings and etchings during his life. Some are still in his home Springwood, but most are in the FDR Presidential Library and Museum. You can see from this photo of his private study at the White House he … Continue reading FDR’s Naval Art Collection: History Captured on Canvas
by Kevin Thomas, Special Events Coordinator Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Christmas message on the radio from his study in the FDR Library in Hyde Park, New York, December 24, 1943. NPx 61-71. Lend-Lease is one of Franklin Roosevelt's most remarkable and vital achievements in the formation of the anti-Hitler alliance- Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, … Continue reading Turning the Tide: FDR and the Battle of the Atlantic, March 18, 1943
by William A. Harris, Deputy Director FDR on television accepting the Democratic Presidential nomination, July 19, 1940. This photo was taken by a viewer while watching the broadcast and sent to the President. (FDR Library, President's Official File-Television) This year marks a major turning point in Presidential nominating conventions with the impact of the COVID-19 … Continue reading Television, FDR and the 1940 Presidential Conventions
by William A. Harris, Deputy Director For the car and truck enthusiasts, as well as those fascinated by the operation of Federal agency motor vehicle fleets during World War II (and really, who isn't?), we provide a glimpse into the operational world of the FDR Library in the early to mid-1940s, including the paperwork nightmare of a pre-computer … Continue reading Keep on Trucking: Esoterica from the FDR Library Files
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