Seventy-five years ago, April 12, 1945, 63 year-old President Franklin Delano Roosevelt unexpectedly died of a cerebral hemorrhage in his cottage at Warm Springs, Georgia. He had for years suffered from severe high blood pressure at a time when little therapy was available. He died in the 83rd day of his fourth term in office.
A funeral train carried his body to Washington the following day. Crowds and honor guards greeted the train at each station along the way. A military procession carried his casket to the White House where it lay in state for several hours. After a brief Episcopal ceremony in the White House on April 14, his casket was entrained the following day to Hyde Park, New York, for burial.
I recall relatives who were in tears as they learned of the president’s death.
New York Gov. Roosevelt entered the Democratic National Convention of 1932 as a clear favorite for the presidential nomination. Because nomination required a two-thirds majority of delegates, FDR did not prevail until the fourth ballot. In his campaign against incumbent Herbert Hoover, FDR called for a “New Deal” for the American people.
The election of Nov. 8 led to a landslide victory for FDR. He carried all but six states. The electoral vote was 472 for Roosevelt and 59 for Hoover.