Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), commonly known as FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States, serving an unprecedented four terms from 1933 until his death in 1945. Born into a prominent Dutch-American family of wealth and privilege in Hyde Park, New York, he was educated at elite institutions including Groton School and Harvard College. Inspired by his fifth cousin Theodore Roosevelt, FDR entered politics as a Democrat, winning election to the New York State Senate in 1910, serving as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under Woodrow Wilson (1913-1920), and securing the vice-presidential nomination in 1920. Stricken with polio in 1921, which left him paralyzed from the waist down, Roosevelt staged a remarkable political comeback, winning the New York governorship in 1928 and the presidency amid the Great Depression in 1932.

As president, FDR implemented the New Deal, a series of programs and reforms including the Civilian Conservation Corps, Social Security, and the Works Progress Administration, aimed at providing relief, recovery, and reform to a nation in economic crisis. His 'Fireside Chats' radio broadcasts built public trust and explained complex policies. Leading the U.S. through World War II after the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, he forged alliances with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, authorized the Lend-Lease program, and oversaw the Manhattan Project. Roosevelt won re-election in 1940 and 1944 but died of a cerebral hemorrhage on April 12, 1945, just months before the European victory, cementing his legacy as one of America's greatest leaders despite controversies over court-packing attempts and Japanese American internment.