Theodore Roosevelt: The Old Lion

by Panzer
Few believed that the frail, asthmatic little boy who loved to collect insects would amount
to anything special, much less the youngest and most robust president in US history.
Theodore Roosevelt’s transformation from sickly child to master of the bully pulpit
and the ultimate symbol of American strength and vitality is an inspiring story of the
power of self determination.
In this week’s Biographics we uncover his story.
Early Life
Theodore Roosevelt, the future 26th President of the United States, was born in New York
City on October, 27th, 1858 to Theodore Roosevelt Senior and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt.
Roosevelt, senior was one of the leading citizens of New York City.
Theodore Junior, who was known as Teedie was the second child to the affluent couple, who
lived in a luxurious home on Manhattan Island.
Teedie had a sister, Anna, who was four years older than him.
A younger brother, Elliot, would follow two years later, and then another sister, Corrine,
a year after that.
Teedie suffered from asthma from the age of three.
His condition was so bad that he spent much of his early years in bed.
Unable to attend school, his parents hired tutors to teach him from home.
Despite his illness, young Teedie relished the opportunity to learn.
Once he had learned to read, he became a voracious devourer of books.
He loved to fill his mind with tales of such Nordic heroes as King Olaf and Eric the Red.
He was also fascinated with newspaper stories about the exploits of the famous British explorer
Dr. David Livingstone.
Teedie was a dreamer and he filled his mind with dreams of tracking through uncharted
territories and discovering untamed tribes.
Young Teedie showed an unusual curiosity about the natural world.
One day, on a trip to the market, he came across a dead seal in a butcher’s stall.
He was fascinated with the find and returned daily to study and measure it with his ruler.
Eventually he managed to take possession of the seal’s skeleton and take it home where
it became the prize exhibit of his ‘Roosevelt Museum of Natural History’, which he had
set up in his bedroom.
From the age of six, Teedie began filling journals with his observations about the natural
world.
His mother regularly took him on trips to the country in order to help alleviate his
asthma.
Teedie made the most of the opportunity to wander around in search of fish, insects,
eels and birds that he could analyze and write about.
The Roosevelt children were raised under the norms of Victorian society.
As members of the upper class they did not mix with the less wealthy, strict mores of