Franklin D Roosevelt, a distant cousin of previous President Teddy Roosevelt, did not face a rosy situation when he came to office. The US economy was squirming in the throes of the Great Depression.
Whilst this gave him an easy victory over incumbent Herbert Hoover, who was partly blamed for the problems, he might have been expected to start his term with a grim speech, but his outlining of the New Deal with sunny words (in less than sunny conditions) imbued optimism into listeners.
FDR went on to become the longest serving President in the US's history, leading the country not only through the Great Depression but in facing WW2. He is generally regarded as one of America's very best Presidents.
Roosevelt died just a few weeks before the war's conclusion in Europe, though at least this spared him from having to make Truman's decision over whether to use atomic bombs in Japan.
One thing that not everyone knows about FDR was the hobby which helped him relax despite the heavy burdens which he had to face: stamp collecting. Roosevelt was an avid philatelist, believing that the hobby was good for those who partook of it, aside for being a welcome distraction.
"Stamp collecting dispels boredom, enlarges our vision, broadens our knowledge, makes us better citizens and, in innumerable ways, enriches our lives." he once commented.
Roosevelt tried to set aside a short time every day to spend with his stamp collection and even designed, or re-designed some stamps himself.
