--- description: Eleanor Roosevelt is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: Eleanor Roosevelt: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73de94abed68f6e4/698a0af322fb853d09e2aabd/social-1948_Eleanor-Roosevelt.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 1948: Eleanor Roosevelt Mar 5, 2020 11:35 AM CUT  Bernard T. Frydrysiak, 1946 oil on canvas, Ford and Marni Roosevelt by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:35 AM CUT Having held the title from 1933 to 1945, [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://time.com/4551325/eleanor-roosevelt-hillary-clinton-first-ladies/ "undefined") was the longest-serving First Lady in U.S. history. What she did with the office was impressive: by crisscrossing the country to promote President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s agenda, and by producing a radio show and newspaper column, she showed that [First Ladies](https://time.com/5529953/presidents-day-first-ladies-day/ "undefined") could play an active part in Executive Branch affairs. And yet she left an even greater legacy after her time in the White House ended. When FDR died in 1945, his successor, Harry S. Truman, appointed the erstwhile FLOTUS to be America’s first delegate to the newly created United Nations. As chair of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, she worked in the years after the Holocaust to prevent future world wars and spearheaded the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the General Assembly adopted on Dec. 10, 1948\. Its statement that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” is still considered a foundation of international human-rights law. It’s no wonder she called that work her “most important task.” _—Olivia B. Waxman_ --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5793538/eleanor-roosevelt-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5793538/eleanor-roosevelt-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"1948: Eleanor Roosevelt","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:35:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:20:46.154Z","description":"Eleanor Roosevelt is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5793538/eleanor-roosevelt-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73de94abed68f6e4/698a0af322fb853d09e2aabd/social-1948_Eleanor-Roosevelt.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73de94abed68f6e4/698a0af322fb853d09e2aabd/social-1948_Eleanor-Roosevelt.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL - Women of the Year: 1948_Eleanor-Roosevelt","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5793538/eleanor-roosevelt-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"1948: Eleanor Roosevelt"}}]}] ```