theodore roosevelt died 91 years ago today

on january 6, 1919, theodore roosevelt, the 26th president of the united states, died in his sleep at his oyster bay home. roosevelt was only 60 years old, and while he had been ill, his death was unexpected.

among roosevelts accomplishments, prior to becoming president, was his service as governor of new york, assistant secretary of the navy, and as an army colonel in the spanish-american war (which earned him, posthumously, the congressional medal of honor). as president he was a committed conservationist - protecting millions of acres of american wilderness and monuments for future generations. roosevelt was awarded the nobel peace prize for his efforts in negotiating an end to the russian-japanese war.

roosevelt is my favorite president. i've read many a biography of his amazing life. i recently finished douglas brinkley's "the wilderness warrior: theodore roosevelt and the crusade for america" (and will hopefully post a review of in the near future). it's the first major work to highlight his work in preserving american wilderness and natural resources. the book is a must read for any roosevelt fan.

so take a minute to think about teddy roosevelt today!

today is theodore roosevelt's 151st birthday :D

today, october 27th, is theodore roosevelt's birthday. he was born 151 years ago today, on october 27, 1858! while today hasn't generated nearly as much interest as his 150th birthday celebration did last year - including the open house festivities at this birthplace, here in new york city - as my all time favorite president, i couldn't let this his birthday pass unnoticed!

it's all the more timely (ageless?) since i'm just about finished with the newest roosevelt biography, "the wilderness warrior: theodore roosevelt and the crusade for america," by douglas brinkley. it's a unique biography, focused exclusively (and in minute detail) on his role as america's first (in essence) environmental crusader. i'll write up a review of that fantastic book in a week or so.

last year, in addition to the open house, i attended a one-man staged performance on theodore roosevelt, "the bully pulpit: quality time with teddy roosevelt," - which was, of course, "bully!" i'm not at all sure what 2010 has in store for teddy roosevelt fans. but it's unlikely that his 152nd birthday will arrive next year without some interesting teddy roosevelt news :D

so take the time to incorporate his signature catchphrase, "bully," into your conversation today!

theodore roosevelt's 150th birthday: october 27, 2008

happy birthday teddy!

theodore roosevelt was born 150 years ago today. to celebrate his birthday, the theodore roosevelt birthplace national historic site (a brownstone right here in new york city) held a two day celebration. i couldn't attend any of the festivities yesterday, which included a one-act play (not unlike the one man show, "bully pulpit," that went to see last june).

but today i did visit the birthplace and got to hear edmund morris and his wife, sylvia's, joint presentation: "theodore and edith: a conversation about the roosevelts." i couldn't stay for the question and answer session because i had to teach class at 1:25 - where, hopefully, we would have gotten word on the projected release of the third volume of edmund morris' monumental biography of roosevelt! but the joint presentation was fun and informative.

here are some photos:

100th anniversary of the "great white fleet" exhibit at vanderbilt hall

vanderbilt hall at grand central station has been taken over by the 100th anniversary of the great white fleet exhibit! in 1907 president roosevelt sent out 16 battleships to circumnavigate the globe on a goodwill mission and display of american naval power.


teddy roosevelt set the fleet in motion.

here is an excerpt from the u.s. press release:

"The U.S. Navy commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Great White Fleet in New York Oct. 7 at Grand Central Terminal with the opening of an exhibit that will run through the 2008 Columbus Celebration ending Oct. 17.

"The exhibit - which includes eight-foot models of battleships, artifacts, memorabilia from Sailors aboard the ships and photo displays that tell the story of an American naval mission - highlights aid provided by ships of the Great White Fleet to Italy in 1908 following a devastating earthquake."



i stopped by the exhibit on my way home from work, yesterday, with my camera. i had already visited it last week, again on my way home from work. anyone commuting via grand central should stop by and check it out!


newspaper headlines on the fleets departure.


newspaper headlines of the earthquake disaster in italy.

"When a devastating earthquake followed by a tidal wave hit Sicily and Southern Italy in late 1908, leaving an estimated 200,000 dead, ships from the fleet rushed to provide essential humanitarian aid and services."

"lion in the white house: a life of theodore roosevelt" book review

aida donald's short biography, "a lion in the white house: a life of theodore roosevelt," is a great introduction to the man, his incredible life, and fascinating times. first, i should mention that teddy roosevelt is my favorite president. second, over the years i've read many books about him and, just this summer, even went to see my first one-man play about him, "bully pulpit." with that as a background, it's not surprising that donald's slim biography covered basically familiar material for me - i thought of it as a teddy refresher.

while donald researched and wrote the book from previously published material (no original research) - primarily his published letters and written works, i found her stripped down portrait of the roosevelt saga a solid, worth-while retelling of his life and accomplishments. for someone new to the man, she did a great job covering all the major points - starting with his childhood, the brief first marriage and child, the apprenticeship he served in the nys legislature, his escape to the badlands of the west to grieve, his return and remarriage to his childhood sweetheart, his emergence as a writer, and brief stint as nyc police commissioner.

all of which served as stepping stones to his eventual appointment as assistant naval secretary under president mckinley. during roosevelt's service as assistant secretary the spanish-american war broke out. roosevelt resigned his position, took a military commission, raised a regiment of volunteers, and then led his "rough riders" into battle. his military valor not only earned him a congressional medal of honor, but eventually led to his election as governor of new york state upon his return home. so independent was he, that the political bosses decided to "promote" him to vice president - and out of new york - when it came time for him to seek re-election as governor.

following mckinley's assassination, roosevelt became the youngest person to be sworn in as president - at the age of 42. the rest is, as they say, history. his accomplishments as president included "trust-busting," land conservation, a naval build-up, diplomacy (which earned him the nobel prize for his efforts to resolve the russian-japanese war), and he set in motion the creation of the panama canal. having served the remaining 3 years of mckinnely's term and the 4 of his elected office, he declined to seek reelection. instead, he helped elect his hand-picked successor, william taft, and then went on an african safari!

upon his triumphant return home roosevelt was lionized by the public. disillusioned by taft, roosevelt sought, and lost, the nomination for president in 1912. believing it was stolen from him because of political deals, he did the unthinkable and abandoned the republican party in favor of the progessive ("bull-moose") third party. that quixotic run paved the way for the democrats to retake the white house. after the election, roosevelt again left the country for a safari - this time he explored the uncharted "river of doubt" in south america.

where donald's book comes up short (albeit it is a "short biography") is the meager treatment of roosevelt's post-presidency, post-third party, activities. she covers off almost 10 years of material in a single all-inclusive chapter. it's almost as if she was in a rush to finish the story. she covered roosevelt and the first world war - including the service of his three sons, and the death of his youngest, quentin - in just a few paragraphs. that rush to get it done was noticeable letdown. but as a roosevelt primer (or refresher), the book is well-worth the read.

for serious fans of teddy roosevelt, however, invest the time to digest edmund morris' monumental first two volumes of his expected trilogy on roosevelt ("the rise of theodore roosevelt" and "theodore rex"). for fans of roosevelt the family man, try "the lion's pride: theodore roosevelt and his family in peace and war," by edward renehan. finally, for lovers of true adventure, consider "river of doubt: theodore roosevelt's darkest journey," by candice millard. it's a spellbinding look at roosevelt's last major adventure.

"the bully pulpit: quality time with teddy roosevelt" theatre review

last night pat and i went to beckett theatre and caught the one man show, "the bully pulpit: quality time with teddy roosevelt." in the interest of full disclosure, i'll mention at the outset teddy roosevelt is, by far, my favorite president. second, even though i'd wanted to see this production for months, thanks to procrastination on my part, this is the final week of performances (the show ends its run sunday)!

the bully pulpit was written and is performed by michael o. smith, a man with an uncanny (if eerie) resemblence to teddy roosevelt. while this is the first new york city appearance, he has toured around the county with the production since 2004. the evening unfolds in roosevelt's study at sagamore hill, his sprawling home in oyster bay, long island. the occasion is his 60th birthday in 1918 - the year before his death - and he leads the audience on a wide ranging tour of the highs and lows of his life.

the story line was intimately familiar to me. over the last 20 years or so i've read just about every book on teddy roosevelt published. in fact, my favorite biographies are edmund morris' two volumes (so far - as we await his third volume, the post-presidency years): "the rise of theodore roosevelt," and "theodore rex." as an aside, while i respect morris' skill as a writer and biographer, he is also the author of what i consider the worst book of all time, "dutch: a memoir of ronald reagan."

the performance, with a short 10 minute intermission, was almost two hours - and the time literally flew by. from his initial appearance, where smith shook hands with audience members as he made his way down to the stage, until his final salute farewell, he kept the audience engaged. throughout the show he shouted out questions, to which the audience shouted back replies. each successful answer was met with a gleeful shout, "give the lady (or gentleman) a silver dollar!" - until he admitted having exhausted his supply of silver dollars.

except for his remembrances of alice (his first wife), his poor treatment of their daughter (also named alice), and the death on his youngest son (quentin) in world war one, smith's performance was consistently upbeat. act one covered his life up to the assassination on president mckinley. following the intermission, act two picked up with start of his presidency. he spoke of his years in the white house (which he took credit for naming) in terms of family life - playing with his young sons, the antics of his oldest daughter alice, and how he entertained the ambassadors of france and germany - as in when they crossed a freezing potomac river in their birthday suits (while the french ambassador retained only his gloves)!

there was the brief coverage of his post-white house adventures (both the political, as a third party candidate, and the literal, on safari in africa and exploring the amazon). the performance ended after he received the telegram informing him of quentin's death. despite the sad note at the end, it was an otherwise upbeat finish.

after the new york run concludes, i hope smith has plans to stage "the bully pulpit" again. it is certainly worth experiencing history come to life - so to speak.

next up: another one-man show, we plan to see laurence fishburne in thurgood!

update: check out my book review of "lion in the white house: a life of theodore roosevelt," by aida d. donald.