Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was diagnosed with polio at age
39 in 1921 after falling ill while vacationing at Campobello Island,
Canada.

The illness resulted in permanent paralysis from the waist down,
though some medical experts now suggest his symptoms were
more consistent with Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Despite the crippling effects of the disease, Roosevelt used his
experience to create the Warm Springs Foundation to help 
others with polio.      

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s wheelchair on display at the New
York State Capitol in Albany, N.Y. (2016). Roosevelt used
this wheelchair at the Executive Mansion during his term
as governor from 1928 to 1932.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

In this photo, pedestrians walk across the bridge on May
27, 1937 — one day before it opened to vehicular traffic.