New York’s Own – Page 9 – The Exasperated Historian

104) Eleanor Roosevelt

104) Eleanor Roosevelt

Former First Lady of the United States During Her Husband Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Administration

Born: 11 October 1884, New York City, New York, United States of America

Died: 7 November 1962, New York City, New York, United States of America

Original Name: Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

She was a niece of President Theodore Roosevelt and a distant cousin to her husband (her maiden name was also Roosevelt, meaning she never had to change her name after getting married).

Eleanor was orphaned and suffered the loss of one of her brothers before the age of ten, so she and her remaining brother were sent to live with relatives. She spent three years in a boarding school outside London under the direction of an influential French headmistress.

Eleanor returned to New York the summer she turned eighteen for her coming out into society.

She and her husband would have six children (one of whom died in infancy) but she often commented that her own serious nature didn’t fit well with her husband’s and he often had to find pleasure elsewhere (for example see Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd).

Her husband became assistant secretary to the Navy in 1913 prompting the family’s move to DC.

During World War One, Eleanor volunteered with wounded soldiers and the Red Cross.

In 1918 Eleanor discovered the affair her personal secretary Lucy and her husband had taken up—and while Franklin promised to end it history shows that is not the case as Lucy was present with Franklin when he died in 1945.

History shows that the Roosevelts would remain married and dedicated to one another but were never intimate again.

In the 1920’s Eleanor’s interest in politics increased (partly due to helping Franklin’s career after he was struck with polio in 1921). She joined the Women’s Trade Union League and the Democrat Party of New York State after returning there to live.
During her twelve years as First Lady of the United States she achieved many firsts including hosting female only journalist press conferences (thanks to her good friend Lorena Hickok--see note).

She had various interests during her tenure including child welfare, equal rights for women and minorities, and housing reform.

Eleanor resigned her membership in the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution in 1939 after the DAR refused to let African American singer Marian Anderson perform in Constitution Hall.

Eleanor was appointed as a delegate to the United Nations after her husband’s death. She played a major role in drafting and the eventual adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

In 1961, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy appointed her to chair the Commission on the Status of Women.

She died from a rare strain of tuberculosis.

Note:

Lorena Hickok and Eleanor were friends, best friends, and perhaps more. Though never definitely proven one way or the other, it seems more than likely that when Franklin reached out to Lucy Rutherford, Eleanor turned to Lorena.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

Affairs of State: The Untold History of Presidential Love, Sex, and Scandal (1789-1900) by Robert Watson

America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines by Gail Collins

Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed by Maureen Callahan

Bad Days in History by Michael Farquhar

The Book of Awesome Women: Boundary Breakers, Freedom Fighters, Sheroes, and Female Firsts by Becca Anderson

Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned by Kenneth C Davis

Eleanor and Hick by Susan Quinn

Eunice: The Kennedy Who Changed the World by Eileen McNamara

First Ladies: Presidential Historians on the Lives of 45 Iconic American Women by Susan Swain and C-SPAN

The Roosevelts and the Royals: Franklin & Eleanor, the King & Queen of England, and the Friendship That Changed History by Will Swift

Sex With Presidents: The Ins and Outs of Love and Lust in the White House by Eleanor Herman

The Smithsonian First Ladies Collection by Lisa Kathleen Graddy and Amy Pastan

Time Magazine's 100 Women of the Year (Eleanor appears in the 1948 article, "Eleanor Roosevelt")

The Who, the What, and the When: 65 Artists Illustrate the Secret Sidekicks of History by Jenny Volvovski, Julia Rothman, and Matt LaMothe

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eleanor-Roosevelt

https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-ladies/anna-eleanor-roosevelt/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/896/eleanor-roosevelt

103) John Walsh

103) John Walsh

Creator and Host of America’s Most Wanted

Born: 26 December 1945, Auburn, New York, United States of America

His other shows include The Hunt with John Walsh and In Pursuit with John Walsh. In Pursuit also showcases his son Callahan, who assists in helping catch the worst humanity has to offer.

John is a victim’s Rights Advocate and member of the board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which he and his wife assisted in creating.

John began his work as a tracker of heinous people after his six-year-old son was kidnapped and murdered. Adam’s case was finally solved thirty years after his death, in 2008.

America’s Most Wanted had caught its first fugitive within four days of the show’s premiere. In total, America’s Most Wanted led to the capture of seventeen of the FBI’s most wanted criminals and overall—over 1,200 fugitives were captured. According to CNN, The Hunt with John Walsh led to eighteen captures or closing of cases. The first season of In Pursuit led to the capture of three wanted criminals; so, I am eagerly awaiting the return of In Pursuit in early 2020.

Sources:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0909696/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/pursuit-john-walsh-returns-second-season-1226080

https://www.cnn.com/shows/the-hunt-with-john-walsh

88) Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr

This photo was taken just hours before Theodore Roosevelt Jr passed away from a heart attack

88) Theodore Roosevelt Jr.

The only General to land with the First Wave at Utah Beach during D-Day—and he did it while waving his cane because of his arthritis!

Born: 13 September 1887, Cove Neck, New York, United States of America

Died: 12 July 1944, Méautis, France

Original Name: Theodore Roosevelt III

Son of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Before joining the army in World War I, he was an investment banker. After World War I he served as the Governor of Puerto Rico and the governor general of the Philippines.

Theodore also worked for various other organizations, including American Express and The Boy Scouts of America, and founded the American Legion.

During World War II he served with the same regiment he had fought with in World War I.

When he found out the men had landed about a mile off course, Theodore’s famous words were: “We’ll start the war from right here!”

He died of a heart attack around a month after D-Day. Theodore was buried in the American Cemetery in Normandy, beside his brother Quentin who was shot down and killed during World War I in 1918.

Theodore had two other brothers: Kermit served in both world wars and later committed suicide, and Archie also served in both wars and ended up with a permanent disability—and the Silver Star.

Theodore’s son—also named Quentin, was also on the beaches (albeit Omaha Beach) and survived, only to die in a plane crash several years later.

Theodore was a Medal of Honor Recipient and also a member of the National Society Sons of the American Revolution. Theodore Jr and his father, the late president, are one of two father-son duos (alongside Douglas MacArthur and his father Arthur) to both earn the Medal of Honor.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

https://www.sar.org/theodore-roosevelt-jr

https://www.insidehook.com/article/history/teddy-roosevelt-jr-toughest-old-man-wwii

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5998/theodore-roosevelt

79) Jane Stanford

Co-founder of Stanford University Alongside Her Husband.

Born: 25 August 1828, Albany, New York, United States of America

Died: 28 February 1905, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America

They created the university to honor their only son who died at the age of fifteen from typhoid fever.

Jane ran the University from 1893 to 1905.

She also served as the first lady of California for a time after her husband was elected governor.

Jane gave birth to their only son when she was thirty-nine. Their son’s dream had been to open a museum of all the historical objects he collected and so when the university opened Jane ensured that dream came true.

In the final years of her life she came into conflict with the University’s president.

Jane was murdered while on vacation in Hawaii. A few weeks before her death she saved herself from strychnine poisoning after forcing herself to throw up the water laced with poison—however a few weeks later the killer laced her bicarbonate of soda with strychnine and she did not taste it in time; dying later that evening.

The university President held a press conference and stated she died of heart failure—something that was believed at the time and until very recently was her official cause of death in most history books.

Her killer was never caught or charged.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

http://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2015/03/jane-stanford.html

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8158227/jane-elizabeth-stanford

73) Ivanka Trump Kushner

Business Woman and Advisor to her Father—Former President Donald J Trump

Born: 30 October 1981, Manhattan, New York, United States of America

Original Name: Ivana Marie Trump

Before her father's administration she worked in acquisitions and development at the Trump Organization.

Ivanka graduated from the Wharton School of Business in 2004. Her husband, Jared, is also an advisor to the President and they have three children together.

It’s interesting that before President Trump announced his run for office Ivanka was nearly always seen in a positive light and as a great role model but now she cannot do anything without being criticized for it, but hey, that’s just my observation.

Badges Earned:

Located In My Personal Library:

Women Who Work by Ivanka Trump

Sources:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/people/ivanka-trump/

69) Ursula Burns

69) Ursula Burns

She served as the CEO of Xerox from 2009 to 2016 and the chairman from 2010 to 2017

Born: 20 September 1958, New York City, New York, United States of America

She was the first African American Woman to serve as CEO of a Fortune 500 Company. Ursula was also the first woman to become CEO immediately following another female CEO stepping aside (for a company of that size).

She was raised by a single mother who ironed and ran a home daycare to pay the bills and send Ursula to a good school.

Ursula joined Xerox in 1980 as a summer intern in the mechanical-engineering program. She completed her master’s degree in 1981.

In 1992 she took her first management position in Xerox and slowly worked her way up from there.

In 2009 Obama appointed her to the STEM Education Coalition and she remained with the project until 2016.

Ursula has also served on the boards for Uber, VEON, and Exxon Mobil. In 2018 she became chairman and CEO of VEON.

Ursula became a widow when her husband died in 2019. She has two children.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ursula-Burns

https://www.forbes.com/profile/ursula-burns/#16a2272b40a0

67) Meg Whitman

67) Meg Whitman

Former CEO of Ebay whose current net worth is estimated by Forbes (in 2019) to be $3.9 Billion

Born: 4 August 1956, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States of America

She was also CEO of Hewlett-Packard from 2011 to 2015.

Meg is still on the board of HP and the boards of Dropbox, Immortals LLC, and Procter & Gamble.

In April 2018 she became CEO of Quibi. In 2023, she officially joined the Board of Directors for Dropbox.

Meg is married with two children. She became the US Ambassador to Kenya in 2022.

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/profile/meg-whitman/#235ebe2163cc

https://www.channelfutures.com/cloud/hpe-ceo-meg-whitman-joins-dropbox-board-of-directors

https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/reports/us-ambassador-kenya-margaret-meg-whitman-loves-muck-around-data-do-her-numbers

66) Joy Mangano

66) Joy Mangano

Inventor who is most remembered for her first invention the Miracle Mop

Born: 1 February 1956, East Meadow, New York, United States of America

She makes regular appearances on HSN and was the president of Ingenious Designs LLC.
The 2015 Hollywood Film Joy is loosely based on her life story.

Joy released her autobiography in 2017.

As of 2019 she holds more than 100 patents for her various products. Joy has three children.

In 2018, HSN was bought out by QVC’s parent company, which then shut down ingenious Designs. A few months later in December Joy announced she was leaving HSN after more than twenty years together.

Sources:

http://joymangano.com/

https://www.tampabay.com/business/joy-mangano-inventor-of-the-miracle-mop-leaves-hsn-after-20-years-20181220/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_Mangano

64) Brigadier General Ranald Mackenzie

64) Ranald Mackenzie

Who Cares About Custer Once You’ve Heard This Guy’s Story?

Born: 27 July 1840, Westchester County, New York, United States of America

Died: 19 July 1889, Staten Island, New York, United States of America

Ranald’s career started at West Point, where he graduated top of his class before enlisting in the Union Army during the War Between the States. He attained the rank of Major General during the war and was injured several times, including losing two fingers on one hand from a shell fragment (his total number of injuries in the war was six—in three years). Those injuries would stay with him the rest of his life and be a major reason for his early retirement later.

In 1871, with the rank of Colonel, Ranald Mackenzie was placed in charge of the Fourth Cavalry Regiment and sent west to confront the “Indian Problem”. During his time there, Ranald would lead missions against various tribes, including several of the branches within the Comanche ranks, the Kiowas, and the Kickapoos. His raid on a Kickapoo Village is specifically remembered because it took place in Mexico, which was obviously outside of his jurisdiction.

Ranald’s most famous engagement during this time was at the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon, which eventually led to the end of the Red River War and the defeat of the Comanche. Once the Comanche moved onto the reservation in Oklahoma (then called the Indian Territory), Ranald moved on, and in 1876 led a troop of men against the Northern Plains Indians.

In 1883, Ranald, who was now a brigadier general, became commander of the Department of Texas. By this time, Ranald’s behavior was turning erratic, very different from his usual tough as nails attitude. Ranald got into a fight in this time, and this fight he didn’t win. In fact, he was found beaten and tied to a wagon wheel. Once he was found, his aides put him on a train to New York. He died six years later, nearly forgotten by the general public despite being more successful than the likes of George Armstrong Custer and other famed Indian Fighters.

While it may seem as though Ranald was the enemy of the people, this is not entirely true. After Quanah Parker, the leader of one of the Comanche bands (and later the first and only chief of the entire Comanche Tribe) actually respected Ranald when they lived together on the reservation.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

The Killing of Crazy Horse by Thomas Powers

The Old West by Stephen G Hyslop

Sources:

http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.war.027

http://frontiertexas.com/biographies/ranald-mackenzie

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7462904/ranald-slidell-mackenzie

63) Albert Woolson

63) Albert Woolson

Union Soldier & the Last Undisputed Survivor of the War Between the States

Born: 11 February 1850 (or 1849, records differ), Antwerp, New York, United States of America

Died: 2 August 1956, Duluth, Minnesota, United States of America

His father enlisted first, in 1861, and was injured early in the war. The entire Woolson family moved to Minnesota to be with their father while he recovered from his wounds, but he sadly passed away. While the family was living there, the US-Dakota War broke out, which ended with the largest mass execution in United States History (thirty-eight Native American men were hung). Albert commented later in life that he had been in the crowd on the day of the executions.

In October of 1864, Albert enlisted into the Union Army, fudging his birth date to 1847 to appear that he was seventeen. Although he initially signed on as a rifleman, Albert would actually serve as a drummer and bugler boy. He reportedly never saw combat, and was in Tennessee for his entire enlistment, being discharged in September of 1865.

After the war, he married twice and had ten children (seven with his first wife and three with his second after his first wife died).

In later life, when it became apparent, he was one of the last remaining veterans, he would visit schools and tell his life story. He also reportedly said, “We were fighting our brothers. In that, there was no glory.”

A month after he died, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War dedicated a statue to him at Gettysburg National Military Park.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

http://www.vets-hall.org/stories/civil-war/albert-woolson

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4059/albert-henry-woolson