Curtis Roosevelt | |
|---|---|
 Roosevelt during a 2010 visit to the Boston Athenæum | |
| Born | Curtis Roosevelt Dall (1930-04-19)April 19, 1930 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | September 26, 2016(2016-09-26) (aged 86) Saint-Bonnet-du-Gard, France |
| Alma mater | Columbia University Northwestern Military and Naval Academy Loyola University in Los Angeles |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents | |
| Family | SeeRoosevelt family |
| Military career | |
| Service | United States Army |
| Rank | Private |
Curtis Roosevelt (April 19, 1930 – September 26, 2016) was an American writer. Roosevelt was the son ofAnna Roosevelt and her first husband,Curtis Bean Dall. He was the eldest grandson of PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt and First LadyEleanor Roosevelt.
Curtis Roosevelt Dall was born on April 19, 1930, in New York City.[1] When he was three, Curtis, his sisterEleanor (born 1927), and his mother moved into the White House, where they lived until his mother remarried in 1935. Newspaper articles frequently referred to the children by their nicknames, "Buzzie" and "Sistie."[2] After his parents' 1934 divorce, his mother married journalistClarence John Boettiger in 1935.[3] His younger half-brother,John, was born in 1939.[4] When his mother and Boettiger divorced in 1949, Eleanor Roosevelt and Anna did not want Curtis to reassume the surname Dall, so Mrs. Roosevelt suggested he use his middle name as his last name.[5]
Roosevelt graduated fromNorthwestern Military and Naval Academy in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. He later attendedLoyola University in Los Angeles.[1]
Roosevelt married four times, first on May 23, 1950, to Robin H. Edwards, with whom he had one daughter, Julianna Edwards Roosevelt. Roosevelt and his wife Robin divorced in March 1954. He subsequently married Ruth W. Sublette on March 6, 1955, and Jeanette Schlottman on May 2, 1961.[4] In 1985, he married Marina Ayers Jones. He had one grandson, Julianna's son Nicholas Roosevelt.[4]
In the mid-1950s, Roosevelt served as aprivate in theUnited States Army.[1]
Between 1956 and 1964, Roosevelt worked for several years in advertising and then primarily for nonprofit institutions, including as regional director for the National Citizens Council for Better Schools and then as vice president in charge of public affairs for theNew School for Social Research. From 1963 to 1964, he served as executive director of the United States Committee for the United Nations.[1]
In 1964, Roosevelt was recruited by theSecretariat of the United Nations to join thePublic Information Department[1] and in the following years, until 1983, held various positions in the international civil service.[6] Roosevelt obtained hismaster's degree from the School of Government and Public Law atColumbia University.
From 1983 to 1986, Roosevelt served as principal at theDartington College of Arts inDevon,England.[7] He served as a visiting professor at theGeneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations, a for-profit business whose lack of university accreditation has put it under the spotlight of the news media,[8][9][10][11][12][13] receiving an honorary doctorate in 2010. In 1987, he and his wife Marina moved toDeia,Mallorca, where Roosevelt devoted himself to pottery, some of his work being exhibited in aPalma gallery. He also occasionally wrote on American politics forEl Mundo inSpain.
Roosevelt's bookToo Close to the Sun: Growing up in the Shadow of my Grandparents Franklin and Eleanor was published in 2008 and led to a series of radio and television appearances by the author. In 2012, the book was translated and published in France.
The Roosevelts lived in a small village in the south ofFrance, where Marina served on the municipal council. He lectured atLille University and regularly appeared onFrench television. He also wrote occasionally forLe Figaro, theInternational Herald Tribune and had articles inLa Tribune,France-Amerique,Marianne and theCommune de la Commune. Because of his connection to his famous family, Roosevelt was often consulted by theRoosevelt Library inHyde Park, New York and theNational Park Service for comments on library exhibits and historic homesSpringwood andVal-Kill.[6]
In 2013, Roosevelt published an essay in e-book form, "Eyewitness in Israel: 1948", detailing his journey, at age 18, to the then-new nation at the behest of his grandmother Eleanor, with whom he was traveling in Paris and who sent him in her stead to report back.[14] Early in 2016 he published his last book, a collection of essays about the Roosevelt family in which he had grown,Upstairs at the Roosevelts': Growing Up with Franklin and Eleanor.
Roosevelt died on September 26, 2016, due to a heart attack, inSaint-Bonnet-du-Gard at the age of 86.[15]
Written by Curtis Roosevelt:
