Hunter, soldier, president, and force of nature. Teddy Roosevelt lived enough for ten lifetimes.
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was a force of nature. He boxed in the White House, hunted in the Amazon, and expanded American power. He turned the Presidency into a "bully pulpit" and lived life at full volume.
1. He was a sickly child
Born with severe asthma, he was often bedridden. His father told him he had the mind but not the body. Roosevelt vowed to "make his body" and spent his youth lifting weights, hiking, and boxing to overcome his weakness.
2. The "Teddy Bear" is named after him
On a hunting trip, he refused to shoot a bear that had been tied to a tree, calling it unsportsmanlike. A political cartoon of the event inspired a toymaker to create "Teddy's Bear." Roosevelt hated being called "Teddy," but the name stuck.
3. He survived an assassination attempt
In 1912, while campaigning, he was shot in the chest. The bullet passed through his steel eyeglass case and a 50-page speech in his pocket, lodging in his rib. He realized he wasn't coughing blood, so the lung was safe. He insisted on delivering his 90-minute speech with the bullet in him before going to the hospital.
4. He was the first President to fly
Always embracing new technology, he was the first President (ex-president at the time) to fly in an airplane (a Wright Flyer) in 1910.
5. He went blind in one eye
He continued boxing as President. One day, a punch from a young artillery officer detached his retina, leaving him blind in his left eye. He kept it secret for years.
6. The River of Doubt
After losing the 1912 election, he went on a suicidal expedition to map an uncharted river in the Amazon. He nearly died of leg infection and malaria, and considered suicide to stop slowing the group down. He survived, but his health was permanently ruined.
7. He was a prolific reader
Roosevelt famously read a book a day, sometimes two or three when he wasn't busy. He read in multiple languages and on almost any subject.
8. He created the National Parks
He was arguably the greatest conservationist President. He established 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, and 5 national parks, preserving 230 million acres of public land.
9. He lost his wife and mother on the same day
On Valentine's Day 1884, his mother died of typhoid. Hours later, his wife died in childbirth. He wrote in his diary a large X and the words: "The light has gone out of my life." He fled to the Badlands to become a cowboy to heal his grief.
10. He won the Nobel Peace Prize
Despite his "Big Stick" foreign policy, he was the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese War.