Eleanor Roosevelt was the longest-serving First Lady

Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President of the United States in 1932. He was re-elected in 1936 and 1940, and in 1940 he ran for a third term, defying the convention of no more than two terms. He won again, as well as the 1944 election. Following his presidency, the two-term convention became law. From March 1933 until FDR's death in April 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States. Prior to her, the First Lady's role was limited to domesticity and serving as a hostess. Eleanor transformed the role and was more active than any previous First Lady. She continued her business and speaking agenda while using her position as a platform for social activism.

Mrs. Roosevelt understood social conditions better than any of her predecessors when she arrived in the White House, and she transformed the role of First Lady accordingly. She never shied away from official entertaining; she greeted thousands of people with charming friendliness. She also set a precedent by holding press conferences, traveling across the country, giving lectures and radio broadcasts, and expressing her candid opinions in a daily syndicated newspaper column called "My Day."