Arthur S. Prettyman
Cite this Page
"Arthur S. Prettyman," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/912.
- Position
- Valet
- Years in President's House
- circa 1940 – 1953
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Biography
- Arthur Shelton Prettyman was born in Baltimore, Maryland on July 20, 1899. (1) Prettyman was a Howard University graduate who served in the United States Navy as a chief petty officer. (2) Around 1940, he became President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s valet. (3) In this role, he worked 18-20 hour days, traveling with the president and getting him ready every morning. His wife, Mildred, wrote that the work was “grueling” as “there was so little the president could do for himself” due to his polio diagnosis. (4)
Arthur Prettyman also had the important task of caring for the president’s beloved dog, Fala, each day, walking and bathing him. (5) Prettyman was such a recognizable part of the president’s entourage that he often traveled undercover for security purposes. (6)
He was present when President Roosevelt had a fatal stroke on April 12, 1945, in Warm Springs, Georgia. (7) After his passing, Prettyman stayed on as valet to President Harry Truman. Truman called him a “fine public servant” and a “man of complete loyalty.” (8) Prettyman left the White House in 1953 and passed away on February 4, 1957. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. (9)
Thank you to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and the Roosevelt - Vanderbilt National Historic Sites for providing research assistance with this biography. - (1) “Arthur Prettyman,” Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/people/arthur-prettyman.htm.
(2) Ibid; “Prettyman, Arthur S,” Army Cemeteries Explorer, https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CglQcmV0dHltYW4SBkFydGh1choBUw--/.
(3) “Arthur Prettyman,” The Afro-American, December 28, 1940, pg. 3; “Roosevelt’s Former Valet Dies on Ex-President’s Birthday,” Evening Star, January 30, 1946, pg. 18, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1946-01-30/ed-1/seq-18/.
(4) Mrs. Arthur S. Prettyman to Raleigh DeGeer Amyx, Letter, January 26, 1983, Heritage Auctions, https://historical.ha.com/itm/political/3d-and-other-display-1896-present-/early-harry-s-truman-eyeglasses-president-truman-favored-eyeglasses-of-a-round-style-from-his-early-days-as-a-world-war-i-l/a/625-25492.s#.
(4) “Roosevelt’s Death Means ‘End of World’ for Valet,” Pittsburgh Press, April 14, 1945, pg. 4; “How Roosevelt Works,” Daily Alaska Empire, January 24, 1945, pg. 4, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045499/1945-01-24/ed-1/seq-4/;“Arthur Prettyman Dies; Valet to FDR, Truman,” Washington Post, February 5, 1957, pg. B2.
(5) “Arthur Prettyman Dies; Valet to FDR, Truman,” Washington Post, February 5, 1957, pg. B2.
(5) “Roosevelt’s Death Means ‘End of World’ for Valet,” Pittsburgh Press, April 14, 1945, pg. 4.
(7) “Truman Praises Former Valet,” New York Times, February 6, 1957, pg. 25.
(9) “Prettyman, Arthur S,” Army Cemeteries Explorer, https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CglQcmV0dHltYW4SBkFydGh1choBUw--/. - Birthplace
- Baltimore, Maryland, USA