On the day President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed away, he was sitting for a portrait by watercolour artist Elizabeth Shoumatoff. During the session, he famously expressed discomfort, stating, “I have a terrific headache,” before losing consciousness due to a severe cerebral haemorrhage. This unfortunate event led to his death in Warm Springs, Georgia, where two paintings—one unfinished and the other completed from memory by Shoumatoff—are displayed side-by-side.
Roosevelt’s declining health had been closely guarded, and it was largely unknown to the public that he relied on a wheelchair due to what was believed to be polio. In the year prior to his death, his condition worsened significantly, and there were concerns he might need to resign from the presidency.
Despite his health issues, Roosevelt sought re-election in 1944 for an unprecedented fourth term, believing that he was the most capable leader amidst a challenging post-war era. He had replaced his previous vice president, Henry Wallace, with Harry Truman, whom he did not know well and had only met twice during Truman’s brief time in office.
On the evening of Roosevelt’s death, Truman was sworn in as the new president. Unbeknownst to him, Roosevelt’s health had been critical, and he was also not informed about the ongoing developments regarding the atomic bomb, which he learned about only that day. This marked a significant transition in American leadership, with Truman quickly thrust into the pressures of the presidency under such unexpected circumstances.