Eleanor Roosevelt

Born October 11, 1884, New York, New York, U.S.—died November 7, 1962

American first lady (1933–45), a United Nations diplomat and humanitarian. 

Following President Roosevelt’s death in 1945, President Harry S. Truman appointed Eleanor as a delegate to the United Nations (UN). She served as the chair of the Human Rights Commission where she played an important role in drafting the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Her defense of the rights of African Americans, youth, and the poor helped to bring groups into government that formerly had been alienated from the political process.