On This Day - What happened 12 April 1945 AD

Truman had been vice president for 82 days when President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945.

33rd President of the United States.

Goebbels knew how to play on Hitler's fantasies, encouraging him to see the hand of providence in the death of the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on 12 April.

Several changes in leadership occurred during this period. On 12 April, President Roosevelt died and was succeeded by Harry S. Truman.

On the afternoon of April 12, Roosevelt said, "I have a terrific headache." He then slumped forward in his chair, unconscious, and was carried into his bedroom. The president's attending cardiologist, Dr. Howard Bruenn, diagnosed the medical emergency as a massive cerebral hemorrhage. At 3:35 p.m. that day, Roosevelt died at the age of 63.

On 12 April 1945, Roosevelt died, and despite their uneasy relationship de Gaulle declared a week of mourning in France and forwarded an emotional and conciliatory letter to the new American president, Harry S. Truman, in which he said of Roosevelt, "all of France loved him".