Fayette County

From our archives: 71 years ago, 3,000 gathered at Cheapside to mourn FDR

Herald-Leader Staff Report
An estimated 3,000 people attended a community memorial service April 14, 1945, outside the Fayette County Courthouse in honor of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR, as he was more commonly known, had died in office two days earlier from a stroke. Harry Truman became the 31st U.S. president. Religious leaders and politicians spoke during the service before a crowd that stood motionless and mute, even during a downpour that forced the ceremony to move inside the courthouse from Cheapside Park. The ceremony ended with mourners singing God Bless America.
An estimated 3,000 people attended a community memorial service April 14, 1945, outside the Fayette County Courthouse in honor of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR, as he was more commonly known, had died in office two days earlier from a stroke. Harry Truman became the 31st U.S. president. Religious leaders and politicians spoke during the service before a crowd that stood motionless and mute, even during a downpour that forced the ceremony to move inside the courthouse from Cheapside Park. The ceremony ended with mourners singing God Bless America. Herald-Leader archive photo

Seventy-one years ago today, on April 14, 1945, an estimated 3,000 people attended a community memorial service outside the Fayette County Courthouse in honor of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR, as he was more commonly known, had died in office two days earlier from a stroke.

Our historical photo blog, KyPhotoArchive.com, pulled images from our archives of the service. They show a large crowd that stood motionless and mute, even during a downpour.

Religious leaders and politicians spoke during the service for FDR, who was the seventh U.S. President to die while in office.

Click here to see the front page of the Lexington Herald reporting the death of Roosevelt. And click here to read the story on the memorial service.

See more historical photos on our blog, KyPhotoArchive.com, or follow them on Twitter. Our vault of images on the blog is updated daily, showcasing nearly a century of Lexington and Kentucky history.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 11:42 AM with the headline "From our archives: 71 years ago, 3,000 gathered at Cheapside to mourn FDR."

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