Happy Birthday "Teddy" Roosevelt Best remembered as the United States 26th president, naturalist and politician Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt Jr. was born on October 27th, 1858, in Manhattan, New York City. From an early age, Roosevelt became interested in zoology, a passion he maintained throughout his life, and learned taxidermy as well. In 1876, after being homeschooled his entire life, Theodore attended Harvard College with the intention of becoming a naturalist and an ornithologist. He later gave up this dream and enrolled at Columbia Law School, which he left before graduating to start a career in politics as part of the Republican Party in his home state. From 1882 to 1884, Roosevelt was part of the New York State Assembly, where he handled corporate corruption cases. In 1884, interested in the western lifestyle and intent on becoming a cattle rancher, Theodore built a ranch named Elkhorn in North Dakota, and began traveling back and forth from New York to his ranch. There, he learnt the ways of the western life, promoted the conservation of large animals and their habitats, and continued to write about the frontier life for national magazines. in 1901, Roosevelt took office as vice president under President McKinley. Less than six months later, however, the president was assassinated while attending a convention in New York, and Roosevelt was quickly sworn in as the United States 26th president. Learn more and check out these these titles |