Hopkins, Harry Lloyd (1890-1946), was President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s most influential adviser. He was one of Roosevelt’s top assistants and closest friends. He helped Roosevelt create and carry out the New Deal recovery program during the Great Depression.
Hopkins was born on Aug. 17, 1890, in Sioux City, Iowa. After graduating from Grinnell College in Iowa in 1912, he became a social worker in New York City. The Great Depression began in 1929. Hopkins showed skill in managing economic relief efforts. In 1931, Roosevelt, then governor of New York, named him to head the state’s relief program.
Roosevelt became president in 1933. Hopkins headed the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) from 1933 to 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935 to 1938, and the Department of Commerce from 1938 to 1940. In 1941, during World War II, Hopkins directed the Lend-Lease program, which provided United States aid to countries fighting the Axis nations. During the war, Hopkins also represented Roosevelt and his successor, Harry S. Truman, at important meetings with Allied leaders. Hopkins died on Jan. 29, 1946.
