Eleanor Roosevelt
The wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt is widely regarded as one of the greatest First Ladies. Holding the position for a record 12 years, she redefined the role of First Lady, and she would even go on to be called the “First Lady of the World” by President Truman due to her promotion of human rights. However, it could have all been so different. As an infant, Roosevelt had a close brush with death. It was, according to several of her biographer an experience that would affect her for the rest of her life. Indeed, while she may have escaped with her life, that early trauma never stopped haunting her…
The year was 1887 and the two-year-old Eleanor was crossing the Atlantic Ocean on board the White Star liner Britannic. Since the Roosevelts were extremely wealthy, they occupied cabins in a prime position on the huge vessel, and it’s possible that their status put them at a distinct advantage when disaster struck. Just one day into its voyage and sailing in thick fog off the coast of New Jersey, the Britannic was rammed by another boat. A number of less-wealthy passengers in steerage class were killed outright by the collision, and more were later found to have been tossed overboard.
With the captain worried the crash might cause his ship to sink, he ordered passengers to the lifeboats. As was the custom, it was women and children first, with the crew’s pistols ensuring the rules were followed. But, perhaps because of his wealth, Eleanor’s father managed to secure a spot on a lifeboat. It was to him a crewman passed the infant, an event the future First Lady would never forget. The sensation of the lifeboat being lowered into the Atlantic Ocean while passengers panicked above stayed with her for the rest of her life.
The Roosevelt family were taken to New York City. While mother and father were determined to push ahead with their travel plans across the Atlantic, Eleanor refused to join them. What’s more, her biographers have revealed that, from that fateful day onwards, she was affected by a fear of not only water but of heights too. She died in 1962, aged 78. And what of the Britannic? It was fixed and returned to service, though the name was transferred to one of White Star’s newer and bigger boats. That second Britannic hit a German mine in 1916 and sank, though all but 30 of 1,065 people on board survived.
