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Quick Facts
- NAME: Theodore Roosevelt
- OCCUPATION: Environmental Activist, Warrior, Governor, U.S. President
- BIRTH DATE: October 27, 1858
- DEATH DATE: January 06, 1919
- EDUCATION: Harvard College, Columbia Law School
- PLACE OF BIRTH: New York, New York
- PLACE OF DEATH: Oyster Bay, New York
- Full Name: Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
- AKA: TR
- AKA: Teddy Roosevelt
- AKA: Theodore Roosevelt
- Nickname: "Trust-Buster"
Best Known For
A New York governor who became the 26th U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt is remembered for his foreign policy, corporate reforms and ecological preservation.
Videos see all videos
Theodore Roosevelt - The Talented Mr. Roosevelt
An inside look at the vigorous lifestyle of Theodore Roosevelt.
Theodore Roosevelt - Spanish American War
Learn about the origins of the Spanish American War and Theodore Roosevelt's hunger for war with Spain.
Theodore Roosevelt - Sagamore Hill
Theodore Roosevelt's family home at Sagamore Hill is filled with many memories for Roosevelt, both filled with grief and happiness.
Theodore Roosevelt - Bull Moose Party
After promising the American people he would not run for re-election in 1908, Roosevelt kept his word and hand picked his successor, William Howard Taft. Yet Taft began to undo Roosevelt's work, prompting him to run for office again.
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Play NowTheodore Roosevelt. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 12:18, Jun 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/theodore-roosevelt-9463424.
Theodore Roosevelt. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/theodore-roosevelt-9463424 [Accessed 19 Jun 2013].
"Theodore Roosevelt." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 19 2013, 12:18 http://www.biography.com/people/theodore-roosevelt-9463424.
"Theodore Roosevelt," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/theodore-roosevelt-9463424 [accessed Jun 19, 2013].
"Theodore Roosevelt," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/theodore-roosevelt-9463424 (accessed Jun 19, 2013).
Theodore Roosevelt [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/theodore-roosevelt-9463424.
Theodore Roosevelt, http://www.biography.com/people/theodore-roosevelt-9463424 (last visited Jun 19, 2013).
Theodore Roosevelt. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/theodore-roosevelt-9463424. Accessed Jun 19, 2013.
Synopsis
Born in New York City on October 27, 1858, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was governor of New York before becoming U.S. vice president. At age 42, Teddy Roosevelt became the youngest man to assume the U.S. presidency; He became commander-in-chief after President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, and won a second term in 1904. Known for his anti-monopoly policies and ecological conservationism,
Contents
Quotes
"Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."
"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed."
"Speak softly and carry a big stick. You will go far."
Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in ending the Russo-Japanese War. He died in New York on January 6, 1919.
Early Life
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was born on October 27, 1858, in New York City, to Theodore "Thee" Roosevelt Sr., of Dutch heritage, and Martha "Mittie" Bulloch, a Southern belle rumored to have been a prototype for the Gone with the Wind character Scarlett O'Hara. His family owned successful plate-glass import business.
As a young boy, Theodore Roosevelt—or "Teedie," as he was known to his family members (he wasn't fond of the nickname "Teddy")—spent a lot of time inside his family's handsome brownstone, homeschooled due to his illnesses and asthma. This gave him the opportunity to nurse his passion for animal life, but by his teens, with the encouragement of his father, whom he revered, Theodore developed a rigorous physical routine that included weightlifting and boxing.
When his father died during his second year at Harvard College, Roosevelt channeled his grief into working even harder: After graduating magna cum laude in 1880, he enrolled at Columbia Law School and got married to Alice Hathaway Lee of Massachusetts.
Political Life
Roosevelt didn't stay long at law school, opting instead to join the New York State Assembly as a representative from New York City—becoming the youngest to serve in that position. Not long after, Roosevelt was speeding through various public service positions, including captain of the National Guard and minority leader of the New York Assembly. However, the tragic deaths of his mother and his wife, which occured on the same day (February 14, 1884), propelled Roosevelt to leave for the Dakota Territory for two years. There, he lived as a cowboy and cattle rancher, leaving his infant daughter in the care of his elder sister.
Returning to political life in 1886, Roosevelt was defeated for the New York City mayorship. Around the same time, he married his second wife, Edith Kermit Carow, whom he had known as child (they had watched the funeral procession of Abraham Lincoln from a window in his grandfather's house on Union Square in New York City). Roosevelt soon resumed his career trajectory, first as a civil service commissioner, then as a New York City police commissioner and U.S. Navy assistant secretary under President William McKinley.
Taking a keen interest in the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt left his government post to organize a volunteer cavalry known as the Rough Riders, which he led in a bold charge up San Juan Hill in the Battle of San Juan Heights, in 1898. A war hero, and nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor, Roosevelt was elected governor of New York in 1898.
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