“Did I ever think when he was little that Franklin might be president?” Sara Roosevelt wrote. “Never, oh never!” However, from the day of his birth, on January 30, 1882, Franklin was the only star in his mother Sara’s galaxy. (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library)

President Theodore Roosevelt was the family idol, and young Franklin did everything he could to emulate his cousin, including following him into politics and the presidency. He even took to wearing pince-nez instead of glasses, and mimicking the president’s expressions, such as “de-e-e-lighted!” (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library)

When Theodore’s niece Eleanor caught Franklin’s eye, theirs might have seemed an unlikely courtship. He was ebullient and sociable by nature, and she was painfully shy and inexperienced with men. But Franklin appreciated her depth and her interest in the world. Their long marriage was hardly smooth sailing, but they were a powerful team. (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library)

Until the age of 39, Franklin led a charmed life, but poliomyelitis struck him down. He would never walk again. However, his greatest crisis strengthened him in other ways. Many historians have observed that were it not for this crucible he never would have become the president he was. For the rest of his life, he found solace at Warm Springs, the rehabilitation center in Georgia, where he developed a deep kinship with his fellow “polios.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library)

Elected president in 1932, FDR was determined to shake things up. He instituted twice weekly press conferences right in the Oval Office, with reporters crowding around his desk. Since no women were allowed, Eleanor instituted her own press conferences for female reporters. (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library)

In their first meeting in Tehran, FDR and Joseph Stalin hit it off, sometimes making jokes atWinston Churchill’s expense in order to cement their relationship. But the underlying debate over which strategy would win the war was deadly serious, and Churchill was often at odds with his counterparts. They knew the world was at the brink, and the direction they chose would make or break the Allied cause. (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library)

On the last night of the Tehran conference, Churchill celebrated his sixty-ninth birthday with an elaborate party. Champagne and toasts flowed, and there were many expressions of goodwill. However, Churchill remained troubled by the decision to go ahead with Operation Overlord (D-Day) the following year. (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library)

On June 6, 1944, the Allies launched the invasion planned in Tehran. Operation Overlord was the decisive battle of World War II. Even today, on the 75th anniversary of D-Day, we are moved by the raw courage of the men who stormed the beaches at Normandy. Many did not survive, but the course of the war was shifted toward victory. (AP Photo/Peter Carroll)

With the war nearly at an end, FDR, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta to plan the post-war world order. FDR was thin and weak, and perhaps his guard was down. At Yalta, despite Churchill’s protests, he gave in on some critical decisions, most notably the future of Poland. It would later become devastatingly clear that Stalin was not an honest broker. (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library)

On April 11, 1945, FDR was in Warm Springs to rest and recuperate after the long journey to Yalta. A portrait artist snapped this photograph, which was the last to be taken. The following day FDR suffered a stroke and died, not living to see victory over Germany, which came less than a month later. (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library)

FDR’s study is preserved in its entirety with a beautiful Persian carpet given to him by the Shah of Iran during the Tehran conference. His armless wheelchair, which he preferred because it looked more like a regular chair, is small and utilitarian, with an ashtray attached. (Photo by Karl Rabe)

FDR loved novelty items, and they crowd his desk in the Oval Office: a set of Scottish terrier and West Highland terrier figurines mounted on magnets, an elephant figurine, a Missouri Mule figurine constructed of nuts and pipe cleaners—plus a photo array of his four sons in military uniform, a large ashtray, a daily calendar, a desk lamp, pens and pencils and other tools. (Photo by Karl Rabe)

The documents of those critical days in Tehran are collected in a thick book. Reading it in the modest reading room of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, history comes alive. In my journalist’s eye, I see FDR, Churchill and Stalin as mighty yet flawed characters grappling with the world to come. (Photo by Karl Rabe)

In Hyde Park, New York, standing in the long driveway, with FDR’s stately family home in the background, it’s easy to picture Roosevelt, his legs shrunken by polio and encased in steel braces, struggling for hours at a time, trying to walk again. He never succeeded. The road to recovery did not restore his legs, but perhaps the struggle gave him his destiny. (Photo by Karl Rabe)