On this day in 1858, Theodore Roosevelt (who did not like to be called “Teddy”) the 26th President of the United States, is born in New York City.
He was the leader of the Rough Riders, and the Governor of New York. At 43, he became the youngest president ever when President William McKinley was assassinated.
Roosevelt busted up monopolies, and set aside land for America’s first national parks and monuments. In another American first, he was the first American to win a Nobel Prize in any category.
A “Big Stick” and a Bible
“Speak softly and carry a big stick,” a West African proverb he used, characterized his approach to foreign policy.
The following quote characterized his approach to the Bible:
“Every thinking man, when he thinks, realizes… that the teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally… impossible for us to figure to ourselves what that life would be if these teachings were removed. We would lose almost all the standards by which we now judge both public and private morals[.]”
Larger-than-life, here’s a photo that showcases his gregarious nature. You may also recognize him from Mount Rushmore.
