Malvina "Tommy" Thompson (New York City, 1893 - April 12, 1953) was a private secretary

Private Secretary

In the United Kingdom government, a Private Secretary is a civil servant in a Department or Ministry, responsible to the Secretary of State or Minister...

 and personal aide to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...

. She was a pioneer of the East Wing staff

Office of the First Lady of the United States

The Office of the First Lady of the United States is accountable to the First Lady of the United States for her to carry out her duties as hostess of the White House, and is also in charge of all social and ceremonial events of the White House...

, being the first staffer for a First Lady of the United States

First Lady of the United States

First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...

 who was not a social secretary

White House Social Secretary

The White House Social Secretary is responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of official social events at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States.-Function:...

.

Career

Thompson began her adult life as an office secretary, working first for the American Red Cross

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...

 during the intense years of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and the 1918 influenza epidemic, and then for the New York State Democratic Committee

New York State Democratic Committee

The New York State Democratic Committee runs the local branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of New York. Its headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and it has an office in Albany.-List of chairpersons:...

. In these roles, she began to work with Democratic Party activist Louis McHenry Howe

Louis McHenry Howe

Louis McHenry Howe was an intimate friend and close political advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He, along with Eleanor Roosevelt and Margurite "Missy" LeHand, was one of the few close associates who supported FDR throughout the most difficult stages of his personal and political...

 and Howe's friend, Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor's daughter Anna Eleanor Roosevelt soon nicknamed her "Tommy". In 1928, Eleanor's husband Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 was elected Governor of New York

Governor of New York

The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...

, making Eleanor the First Lady of her state. As the Governor had paraplegia

Franklin D. Roosevelt's paralytic illness

Franklin D. Roosevelt's paralytic illness began in 1921 at age 39, when Roosevelt got a fever after exercising heavily at a vacation in Canada. While his bout with illness was well known during his terms as President of the United States, the extent of his paralysis was kept from public view. After...

, Mrs. Roosevelt had to perform much of the travel and meet-and-greet duties of the Office of the Governor.

"Tommy" soon became an integral part of Eleanor Roosevelt's leadership role. Her formal role was that of Eleanor's scheduler, personal travel assistant, and office secretary; informally, she and Eleanor developed a good cop/bad cop

Good cop/Bad cop

Good cop/bad cop, known in British military circles as Mutt and Jeff and also called joint questioning and friend and foe, is a psychological tactic used for interrogation....

 interrelationship. The First Lady relied upon Thompson to cut off her own tendencies to be sympathetic and over-generous to petitioners.

When the Roosevelts moved to the White House in March 1933, "Tommy" continued and intensified her role. Mrs. Roosevelt and Ms. Thompson began operating nationwide to encourage and inspect the divisions and departments performing New Deal

New Deal

The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...

 relief, traveling as much as 40,000 miles (65,000 km) per year. Continuing to serve as Eleanor's personal assistant and scheduler, she also took on the pioneering role of First Lady press secretary

Press secretary

A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage....

, organizing and overseeing Mrs. Roosevelt's all-female press conferences and her syndicated daily newspaper column, My Day

My Day

My Day was a newspaper column that was written by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt six days a week from 1935 to 1962. In her column, she discussed issues such as race, women, and key events . This column allowed Mrs. Roosevelt to spread her ideas and thoughts to millions of Americans and give them a...

.

One of Eleanor Roosevelt's biographers, Blanche Wiesen Cook

Blanche Wiesen Cook

Blanche Wiesen Cook , Distinguished Professor of history at John Jay College in the City University of New York, is the author of Eleanor Roosevelt: Volume One 1884-1933, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize winning biography of Eleanor Roosevelt...

, summarized Thompson's character and role in the Roosevelt Administration:

Entirely loyal to ER, she was efficient, protective, and open-hearted. Tommy smoked cigarettes from morning to night, drank Scotch at day's end, and saw something funny in almost every situation. ER relied on her quick-witted support, and her fabulous sense of humor. Tommy's robust and hearty laugh lit up many tense situations, and she had a good time wherever she went.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/eleanorroosevelt.htm

In 1939, when Eleanor Roosevelt had the opportunity to transform the Val-Kill estate

Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site consists of approximately two miles east of Springwood, the Hyde Park Roosevelt family home.-History:...

 at Hyde Park into her private compound, she set aside a suite of rooms in Val-Kill - two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a screen porch - for Thompson to live in and use. Thompson continued her service to Mrs. Roosevelt after the former First Lady retired to Val-Kill following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in April 1945. The public relations work and daily newspaper column continued, now as a description of Eleanor's global role as delegate to the United Nations General Assembly

United Nations General Assembly

For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...

 and first chairperson of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights

United Nations Commission on Human Rights

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006...

. However, Thompson's work ended in April 1953 when she was stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage, which caused neurological damage that ended with her death.

Personal life

At the time of her service in the White House, Thompson's brief marriage had ended. On rare, formal occasions, she would refer to herself or be referred to as Malvina Thompson Scheider, but was usually referred to as Malvina Thompson. Evidence exists of a relationship between Thompson and a close friend, Henry Osthagen, with press accounts depicting the two traveling together with Eleanor Roosevelt and the First Lady's friend, Earl Miller.

Gossip was also published during the Roosevelt Administration about an alleged relationship between Roosevelt and Thompson. For example, in February 1936 an unnamed reporter for the newsweekly Time

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

referred to Thompson, Nancy Cook

Nancy Cook

Nancy Cook was an American suffragette, teacher, part owner of the Todhunter School and an intimate of Eleanor Roosevelt.-Birth and early life:...

, and Marion Dickerman

Marion Dickerman

Marion Dickerman was an American suffragette, educator, vice-principal of the Todhunter School and an intimate of Eleanor Roosevelt.-Birth and early life:...

, all of whom lived at various times at Val-Kill, as members of the First Lady's "troupe of handmaidens."

This was how Lorena Hickok

Lorena Hickok

Lorena Alice Hickok was an American journalist and confidante of Eleanor Roosevelt. Her relationship with Roosevelt has been the subject of research.-Early life:...

 summarized Thompson's final years at Val-Kill:

So Mrs. Roosevelt had spent the summer following his death moving out the things the family wanted to keep. And on April 12, 1946, the first anniversary of his death, the big house would be formally accepted by President Truman, on behalf of the American people. Mrs. Roosevelt had settled down with Tommy in a rambling two-story house that she called her "cottage," three miles away from the river and the big house.

Following Thompson's death in April 1953, some of Eleanor Roosevelt's relatives and close friends sent her letters and notes of condolence

Condolences

Condolences are an expression of sympathy to someone who has experienced grief arising from death, deep mental anguish, or misfortune.When individuals condole, or offer their condolences to a particular situation or person, they are offering active, conscious support of that person or activity...

. This correspondence survives and has been catalogued accordingly in the First Lady's section of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library.