Fun Facts About FDR...
In 1923 he invested in a
dirigible transportation system—
The General Air Service would have run
between New York and Chicago.
Helium-filled dirigibles, mind you.
The Secret Service nicknamed Fala "The Informer."
FDR made secret train trips during the War.
FDR made secret train trips during the War.
When they stopped and Fala went for walks, passersby
often recognized him and realized FDR was aboard.
often recognized him and realized FDR was aboard.
The first president to fly while in office,
he took the Boeing Flying Boat ("The China Clipper")
to Casablanca to meet Churchill.
At their wedding cousin Teddy, the former president,
quipped, 'It is a good thing to keep the name in the family."
FDR may have been stricken in 1921
with Guillain-Barre Syndrome,
not polio, according to a 2003 study.
When re-elected in 1944, he was
dying of cardiovascular disease.
FDR enjoyed wearing a white skirt and patent-leather
party shoes. He also had shoulder-length hair.
party shoes. He also had shoulder-length hair.
Back in the day, that was the style for boys under age five
who were having their photographs taken.
Boys in those days typically did not get haircuts
until about age five or six.
who were having their photographs taken.
Boys in those days typically did not get haircuts
until about age five or six.
His December 8 speech originally read
"...a date which will live in world history."
He was the first president to appear on television.
(Not above, but at the 1939 World's Fair
giving the opening day speech.)
He belonged to the Hasty Pudding Club at Harvard.
His favorite food was fried corn mush.
