October 11
Eleanor Roosevelt
On this date in 1884, Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City. At 15 she had the privilege of becoming a student at Allenwood, a progressive prep school in Wimbledon, England, run by French headmistress Marie Souvestre, an avowed agnostic. Roosevelt kept a portrait of her mentor on her desk throughout her life.
She married Franklin Roosevelt, her fifth cousin once removed, in 1905 and bore him six children, one of whom died in infancy. She settled into her role as a political helpmeet as he pursued his political career. After he was struck by polio in 1921, she became his “eyes and ears.” As first lady from 1933-45, she threw herself into reforms, including the championing of social justice. She sat in the “black section” at an auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1938 and resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1939 after it barred singer Marian Anderson from its hall.
Roosevelt insisted her husband ensure that African-Americans were not shut out of New Deal projects. She broke tradition by holding press conferences, traveling, lecturing, giving radio broadcasts and writing “My Day,” a six-day-a-week syndicated column that ran until 1962. After FDR’s death in 1945, she continued her activism.
In a “My Day” column (June 23, 1949), she wrote that private and denominational schools “should not receive federal funds; in fact, no tax funds of any kind. The separation of Church and State is extremely important to any of us who hold to the original traditions of our nation. To change these traditions by changing our traditional attitude toward public education would be harmful, I think to our whole attitude of tolerance in the religious area.” (Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project, George Washington University, 2017)
Whatever her personal beliefs, as author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, she championed freedom of conscience: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief.” The declaration was adopted by the United Nations in 1948. (D. 1962)
PHOTO: Roosevelt in 1898; National Archives photo.
“The Bible illustrated by Dore occupied many of my hours — and I think probably gave me many nightmares.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt, "This Is My Story" (1937)
Compiled by Annie Laurie Gaylor
© Freedom From Religion Foundation. All rights reserved.
Emily Deschanel
On this date in 1976, Emily Erin Deschanel was born in Los Angeles to Mary Jo (née Weir) and cinematographer and director Caleb Deschanel. Her younger sister is actress and singer-songwriter Zooey Deschanel. They were raised as Catholics. While Emily later called her church experience as a teen wonderful, her affection for religion as an adult dissipated.
Deschanel was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia in elementary school, graduated from high school in Los Angeles and earned a bachelor of fine arts in theatre in 1998 from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts.
Her film debut was a minor role in the rom-com drama “It Could Happen to You” (1994) on which her father was chief cinematographer and starred Bridget Fonda, Nicolas Cage and Rosie Perez. A substantial role followed when she played a psychic television host in Stephen King’s three-episode miniseries “Rose Red” in 2002.
Deschanel had film roles in “Cold Mountain,” “The Alamo” and “Glory Road” and was named one of “Six actresses to watch” by Interview Magazine in 2004, the year she played a receptionist in “Spider-Man 2” starring Tobey Maguire.
Her breakthrough role came in 2005 as Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist, on the Fox network’s crime procedural “Bones.” The 246-episode series, which ran 12 seasons until 2017, was known for its “dark comedic undertones, which served to lighten the gravity of the show’s intense subject matter,” one critic wrote.
FBI agent Seeley Booth, played by co-star David Boreanaz, disagree about science and faith. Brennan argues for science, evidence and atheism. Booth comes down on the side of intuition, faith and God in heaven in frequent debates with Brennan, who regards all religions as primitive superstitions unsupported by empirical evidence.
For her performances, Deschanel received a 2006 Satellite Award nomination and a 2007 Teen Choice Award nomination. While “Bones” was still in production, she also played the Brennan character on a 2015 episode of “Sleepy Hollow” and a 2016 episode of “BoJack Horseman.”
She married “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” actor and writer David Hornsby in 2010. They have two sons, Henry (b. 2011) and Calvin (b. 2015).
Deschanel played Dr. Suzanne Mathis, a hospital psychiatrist, in “Devil in Ohio,” an eight-episode Netflix series released in 2022 to mediocre reviews. Mathis gives shelter to a girl who has escaped from a devil-worshipping cult and has a pentagram carved on her back. Religious freedom issues had prevented investigation of the alleged cult.
Deschanel took part with other actresses to make a slumber party video featured on FunnyorDie.com to promote breast cancer screenings for Stand Up 2 Cancer. She and Carla Gallo, who had a recurring role as Daisy Wick on 33 “Bones” episodes, announced a podcast called “Boneheads” in 2023. It features secrets and insights as Deschanel and Gallo rewatch show episodes. Disney announced in 2025 that “Bones” was among the TV series to surpass 1 billion hours streamed on Disney+.
She delivered a commencement address in 2025 at her alma mater Boston University and received an honorary doctor of fine arts degree. She is a vegan and animal rights activist.
PHOTO: Deschanel in 2025 at the 20th anniversary panel for “Bones” in Los Angeles; photo by Kevin Paul under CC 4.0.
“I am not a practicing Catholic or any religion right now, and a lot of the reason is the stance on being gay in a lot of the churches. I don’t agree with that, and I don’t think that is the core of what the church originally started for anyway. I am more of a spiritual person, if anything, and I am of the belief that we don’t know, and I’m not going to pretend that I do.”
— Interview, nextmovie.com (May 4, 2012)
Compiled by Bill Dunn
© Freedom From Religion Foundation. All rights reserved.
