Theodore Roosevelt Fun Facts
Theodore Roosevelt
He was the first president to leave the country. He left on the USS Louisiana to personally supervise the construction of the Panama Canal in 1906.
Theodore Roosevelt
He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for his role in mediating the Treaty at Portsmouth, which ended the Russo-Japanese war. He was the first American to get the award, and used the money to promote industrial peace.
Theodore Roosevelt
Out hunting with friends, he saved the life of a bear that they had tied to a tree, saying that it was too easy and therefore unsportsmanlike. This is also how he got the name "Teddy".
Theodore Roosevelt
A boxing accident left him virtually blind in one eye. He had boxed and Harvard university and continued to do so during his political career. It happened when a punch from an artillery officer busted a blood vessel and left him virtually blind in his left eye.
Theodore Roosevelt
He climbed the Swiss Alps against his doctor's orders. A doctor at Harvard told Roosevelt he need to cut back on physical activity, so he responded by saying "Doctor," he said, "I'm going to do all of the things you tell me not to do." This is when he decided to scale Matterhorn with two guides.
Theodore Roosevelt
He was a member of the Hasty Pudding club, a club at Harvard. Roosevelt won election into the Hasty Pudding Club while a Harvard, and he was the social club's secretary during his senior year. He was one of only five presidents to do so, and the others were John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy.
Theodore Roosevelt
He was racist, and said "The most vicious cowboy has more morals than the average Indian."
Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt stopped in Milwaukee to spread his word while running for president. Getting ready to give his speech, a man named John Schrank approached Teddy and shot him in the chest. He was quickly apprehended. Minutes later, Roosevelt went on stage, announced he had been shot, and continued to give the speech, which was 3,800+ words.
Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt took a four minute flight in a plane built by the Wright brothers on October 11, 1910. This made him first president to fly in an airplane.
Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt was present the Abraham Lincoln funeral procession when he was a child in 1865.
Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt's mom and wife died on the same day. It was Valentines day 1884. His mom died from typhoid fever. 12 hours later, his wife died due to Bright's disease and complications from giving birth to their first child two days prior.
Theodore Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt became the youngest man to assume the U.S. presidency after President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901.