Saturday, October 31, 2026
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, was born on Oct. 27, 1858. More than a century after his death, Roosevelt remains one of the most colorful figures in American history, remembered for his conservation efforts, adventurous spirit and larger-than-life personality.
Beyond his political accomplishments, Roosevelt had a fascinating personal life filled with unusual hobbies, memorable mishaps and stories that reveal a man who rarely did anything halfway. In honor of Roosevelt’s birthday, here are three things to know about the former president:
1. He married his first wife on his birthday
Roosevelt’s birthday marked more than the anniversary of his birth. On Oct. 27, 1880, he married his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee, in Brookline, Massachusetts, on his 22nd birthday.
Lee died on Valentine’s Day in 1884, two days after giving birth to their daughter, Alice Lee Roosevelt. Roosevelt was devastated by the loss. His mother, Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, also died on Feb. 14, 1884, the same day as his wife.
Roosevelt recorded his grief in his diary with a simple black cross and the words, “The light has gone out of my life.”
He eventually returned to public life and married Edith Kermit Carow in 1886. The couple had five children together, joining Alice in a lively household.
2. A hunting trip inspired the iconic teddy bear
Roosevelt traveled to Mississippi in November 1902 to hunt black bears. During the expedition, his hunting companions tracked down a bear, captured it and tied it to a tree, offering the president an easy opportunity to shoot it. Roosevelt refused, considering the circumstances unsportsmanlike.
The incident attracted national attention after political cartoonist Clifford Berryman depicted the president refusing to shoot the bear. The cartoon inspired Morris Michtom, a Brooklyn candy shop owner, to create a stuffed toy bear named after Roosevelt. Michtom displayed the toy in his shop with the president’s permission, calling it “Teddy’s bear.” The name stuck, and the teddy bear became a popular children’s toy.
3. His children’s White House pets included a hyena and a badger
Roosevelt and his family brought considerable energy to the White House during his presidency from 1901 to 1909.
His five children with Edith were known for their lively antics, while the family kept an assortment of animals that would have been unusual in most presidential households.
Among the animals was a pony named Algonquin. According to accounts of the Roosevelt family’s White House life, the children once brought the pony into the White House elevator to visit their brother Archie while he was recovering from an illness.
The family also kept a badger named Josiah, a bear, a hyena, a macaw and a lizard, in addition to more traditional cats, dogs and other birds.
