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Anna Eleanor Roosevelt is remembered as the longest-serving First Lady of the United States and an advocate for civil rights. Wednesday marks 139 years since she was born, but her legacy lives on, specifically her impact on aviation. She was the first First Lady to travel on a plane ride and her support of the Tuskegee Airmen early on helped to advocate for and bring visibility to the training program. First Lady Roosevelt was also close friends with the "First Lady of the Air" Amelia Earhart and even obtained her student permit to fly.
Roosevelt was born in New York City on Oct. 11, 1884 to parents Anna Hall and Elliot Roosevelt, the younger brother of President Theodore Roosevelt. Her mother died from diphtheria in 1892 and her father died two years later, after which she went to live with her Grandmother Hall. She fell in love with and married her distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1905 and together the couple had six children. While her husband rose in political rank, Roosevelt also became active in the field, supporting her husband's work and her own civil rights efforts throughout her life. She met and began a friendship with Earhart in 1932, which continued when her husband became president in 1933 and until Earhart's disappearance in 1937. Her interest in aviation and friendship with other aviators continued long after.Friendship with Amelia Earhart and early involvement in aviation
On April 20, 1932 Roosevelt invited Earhart and her husband George Putnam to a dinner party at the white house. President Roosevelt was away but her brother Hall Roosevelt was in attendance, as well as Thomas Wardwell Doe, the president of Eastern Air Transport and Eugene Luther Vidal, the head of the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Air Commerce, according to A Mighty Girl blog. The blog reported that Earhart grew impatient with formalities during the dinner and suggested taking a short flight to pass the time before dessert. The group boarded one of Eastern Air Transport's twin-engine Curtiss Condor planes, with Earhart taking the captain's chair and Roosevelt sitting in as co-pilot for most of the flight, going against protocol. The group flew to Baltimore and back, all while the women donned formal gowns and gloves.
In her position as First Lady, Roosevelt was able to travel by air frequently. After flying with Earhart, Roosevelt obtained her student flying permit but did not pursue her plans to learn to fly. She continued her close friendship with Earhart until she disappeared in 1937 on an attempt to circumnavigate the globe in a Lockheed Model 10-E Electra with navigator Fred Noonan.
The First Lady and the Tuskegee Airmen
For years African Americans serving in the U.S. armed forces were restricted in the types of roles they could hold. On April 3, 1939 President Roosevelt approved a law expanding the Army Air Corps, which included a measure to create training programs at colleges to prepare African American men to serve in the Air Corps support services, according to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. On Jan. 16, 1941 the War Department announced the formation of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, an all-Black flying unit trained at the Tuskegee Institute. African-American aviation pioneer Charles A. Anderson established a civilian pilot training program at the Institute in 1939, later playing a crucial role in changing the perception of the Tuskegee airmen and black aviators.
Without black officers, 11 white officers were assigned to train and prepare 429 enlisted men and 47 officers to become the Tuskegee Airmen, according to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Between 1941 and 1946, over 2,000 African Americans completed their training at the Institute and nearly three-quarters of them qualified as pilots, the rest becoming navigators or support personnel. The 99th Fighter Squadron went on to develop a pristine record of never losing a bomber to enemy fighters. Roosevelt was interested in the Institute early on, playing an important role in advocating for the pilots and program as well as boosting the Institute's visibility. It was not until July 26, 1948 that President Harry S. Truman passed an executive order directing the military to end segregation.
Roosevelt was a longtime advocate of civil rights for the African-American community and showed interest in the Tuskegee Institute early on. She visited in March 1941 to observe the Civilian Pilot Training Program, according to CAF Rise Above. Much to the chagrin of her Secret Service escorts, Roosevelt requested an orientation flight. Chief Instructor Pilot Anderson took her for a ride over the training area in a JP-3 Piper Cub, an aircraft used for flight training. Roosevelt was determined to show her support for the Institute and rebuke the notion that African Americans could not fly. The photos of the First Lady and Anderson were seen all over the U.S., bringing necessary visibility to the Institute and providing a boost to black aviation.Eleanor Roosevelt accepting a plaque Tuskegee Airman Cecil Peterson in 1941, photo courtesy of Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library
Chief Anderson was a pioneer in African-American aviation, having been one of the first to earn a private pilot's license and qualify as a transport pilot, according to CAF Rise Above. Anderson flew the First Lady for over an hour, but the historic flight's impact has lasted for decades. Roosevelt was impressed with the program and continued to correspond with many of the airmen long after the visit, according to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library. Anderson's success as a pilot and trainer was a leading factor in the Army Air Corps' decision to establish a primary training program at Tuskegee. He continued his work supervising the primary flight training of over 1,000 African-American pilots. After WWII he continued training black and white students, eventually establishing a summer flight academy where he trained students until 1989.
WWII involvement in aviation
Roosevelt continued to push boundaries as a woman and as First Lady. In August 1943 she flew out to the Pacific theater amid the U.S. and other allied forces battling Japan. According to History, Roosevelt traveled about 25,000 miles in five weeks. Due to her position, her location was kept secret as she set out on her trip. Many soldiers were shocked to see the First Lady step off the plane. She kept up with the men while on her journey, sleeping on cots in huts and traveling in harsh terrain to isolated camps in jungles. A visit during wartime was part of her unconventional nature as a woman and the First Lady. Once the secret of her travels was out, a large spotlight shined on Roosevelt, bringing in both praise and criticism.
The First Lady was a pioneer in her own right, standing firm in her beliefs and stepping out as an advocate and adventurer despite her position and gender. On her journey abroad in WWII she wrote, …no matter how plain a woman may be if truth andamp; loyalty are stamped upon her face all will be attracted to her," according to The White House. She made friends where she could have made enemies and used her high position in society and political power for good, serving as a supporter and advocate of underserved communities.
After her husband died in 1945, she told reporters that the story was over, according to The White House. Within a year President Truman appointed her as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly and she became the first chairperson of the preliminary United Nations Commission on Human Rights. She continued working in politics and human rights advocacy until the 1960s. In April 1960 Roosevelt was diagnosed with aplastic anemia after being hit by a car. In 1962, prescribed steroids activated a dormant case of tuberculosis. She died at the age of 78 of cardiac failure on Nov. 7, 1962. She was buried next to her husband.
The impact First Lady Roosevelt had on the U.S. is still seen and felt across the nation. From her political work during her husband's career and after to her advocacy of the early days of aviation and African-American pilots, her memory lives on. She supported aviation early on with her friendship and flights with Earhart and her pivotal flight with Anderson marked a transition in aviation. With her staunch support, the nation began to see aviation as a field for all people, including the many brave members of the Tuskegee Institute. Now, 139 years after she was born, the aviation community remembers Roosevelt as a pioneer in her own right, leading the way to a new age of aviation in a co-pilot seat in a silk gown and white kid gloves.