Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was born on October 27, 1858. Theodore or “Teedie” as he liked to be called was born in New York city to his parents, Theodore “Thee” Roosevelt Sr. and Martha “Mittie Bulloch. His parents both coming from different heritages, his father of Dutch heritage, and his mother, a Southern Belle, we’re owners of a successful plate-glass import business. When Theodore Roosevelt was a young boy, he wasn’t fond of the nickname Teddy, so his family members and close friends called him “Teedie.” As a young boy, Teedie spent a lot of time inside, due to his many illnesses and asthma. He was homeschooled until his parents gave him the opportunity to “nurse his passion for animal life.” Soon, when he became a teenager, his interest began to change. By the encouragement of his father, who he thought highly of, Theodore developed a dynamic physical routine that included weightlifting and boxing. Theodore started attending Harvard College, and during his sophomore year, his father passed away. Instead of grieving and falling behind, Theodore channeled his grief into working even harder. After graduating from Harvard, in magna cum laude, in 1880, he enrolled at Columbia Law School and met Alice Hathaway Lee and married her.

For he didn’t stay in law school long, he chose instead to join the New York State Assembly as a representative from New York city. He was the youngest to serve in this position. After this he held many public service positions, including captain of the National Guard and minority leader of the New York Assembly. He did not hold these positions for long though, following the tragic deaths of his wife and his mother on the same day(February 14, 1884), Roosevelt left for the Dakota Territory...

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... and published more than 25 books about a range of subjects, including history, biology, geography, and philosophy. He also published and autobiography, including The Winning of the West, which was about his war experience.

Theodore Roosevelt had a rather peaceful death, He died in his sleep on January 6, 1919, at his home in Long Island, Sagamore Hill, after suffering a coronary embolism. He was at the age of 60 at the time of his death, and was buried at the Youngs Memorial Cemetary in New York. After his death he received the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously, even though while he was alive he was denied the medal. He was awarded this honor more than 100 years later, on January 16, 2001. Roosevelt was the first to receive this Medal of Honor, conferred by President Bill Clinton. Teddy Roosevelt’s helpful vision helped bring our nation into the new century.