Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) was the wife of Franklin Roosevelt (the 26th U.S. President) and was first lady for 12 years. She was known for her progressive views for workers’ rights, civil rights and as a feminist. She was FDR's conscience, a spokesman for him, and she became his legs (since her husband became paralyzed by polio in 1918). Eleanor travelled extensively promoting his and her views and causes. After Eleanor married Franklin (her 5th cousin) on Saint Patrick’s Day in 1905, they moved to New York City, as well as at the family's estate overlooking the Hudson River in Hyde Park, New York. Eleanor deferred to her mother-in-law, Sara Roosevelt, in virtually all household matters. Eleanor never felt comfortable in the Hyde Park home, since it was Sara’s domain. Eleanor eventually found happiness in the cottage that Franklin built for her on the Roosevelt estate in 1924, called Val-Kill. There, she was her own person out of the sphere of her domineering mother-in-law. Despite a happy start to Eleanor and Franklin’s marriage, it almost disintegrated over Franklin's affair with his wife's social secretary Lucy Mercer, which Eleanor accidently discovered in 1918. From then on, they ceased to be intimate. This betrayal was especially painful to Eleanor since she lost both her parents by the time she was 10 and was starved for affection as a child. In addition to being first lady, Eleanor was an author and columnist and wrote a syndicated news column called "My Day," from 1935-1962. After her husband’s death in 1945, she was was appointed by Harry Truman as a delegate to the U.N. General Assembly from 1945 to 1952. She remained an influencial spokesperson for human rights and remained active in politics for the rest of her life. When she died, Eleanor was one of the most admired women in America.