Harry Truman had been vice president for three months when he heard the news that President Franklin Roosevelt had died. He later said he “felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me.”

Truman grew up in Independence, Missouri. For twelve years he worked the family farm, and during World War I, he fought in France. Returning home, he married Bess Wallace, whom he had known since childhood.

Truman opened a haberdashery in Kansas City and became active in the Democratic Party. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1934, his wartime role as chairman of a special committee on defense spending earned him national recognition and a spot on the 1944 Democratic ticket as Roosevelt’s running mate. He completed FDR’s fourth term and then won a surprise victory in the presidential election of 1948, but declined to run again in 1952.

As president, Truman made the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which brought about Japan’s surrender and an end to World War II. He also signed the United Nations charter and launched the Marshall Plan to provide economic recovery for war-torn Europe. His administration also saw the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950.

After leaving the White House, Truman and Bess returned to Independence, where Truman worked on his library. He died on December 26, 1972, at age 88.