By Alison Werner, Senior Writer

     Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858 into a wealthy family living in New York City. As a child, he was quite sickly. His father encouraged physical exercise to help improve his health. As a result, Roosevelt grew stronger.

     Roosevelt was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1881. He distinguished himself as a reformer. However, in 1884 Roosevelt left politics because of ill health and the death of his first wife. He purchased a cattle ranch in the Badlands of the Dakota Territory. He became a rancher and hunter. However, in 1886, he returned to New York, remarried, and reentered politics.

     After serving as New York City Police Commissioner and Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Roosevelt helped form the Army’s First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment during the Spanish-American War. Newspapers dubbed the 1st Cavalry the “Rough Riders.” As lieutenant colonel, Roosevelt led the Rough Riders in battles against the Spanish. In 2001, Roosevelt was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, America’s highest military honor, for his service during the war. He is the only U.S. president to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

     Upon leaving the Army, Roosevelt was elected governor of New York in 1898. During the 1901 presidential election, he was named as President William McKinley’s running mate. The two won. On March 4, 1901, McKinley became president and Roosevelt vice president. Only six months later, President McKinley was assassinated. Roosevelt, at 42 years of age, became the26th President of the United States. He was the youngest person to become president in U.S. history. Roosevelt went on to win the 1904 presidential election.

     Roosevelt championed progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy during his presidency. He believed the president was the “steward of the people” and should take whatever action necessary for the public good. Roosevelt was instrumental in the construction of the Panama Canal which provided a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He also helped mediate an end to the Russo-Japanese War, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. Roosevelt often repeated the proverb, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”

     As president, some of Roosevelt’s most effective achievements were in conservation. He set aside about 230 million acres of land. He believed nature needed to be protected or it would disappear. Today, Americans enjoy national parks throughout the country thanks to Roosevelt.

     In 1908, he chose not to run for a second-term as president. Although he ran again in 1912 and considered another run in 1920, he pursued a life devoted to travel and hunting. He embarked on a safari in east and central Africa where he hunted animals that eventually became exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC and the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

    On January 6, 1919, at the age of 60, Roosevelt died in his sleep from a heart attack. He was buried in Oyster Bay, New York. In 1927, Roosevelt was included with Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln at the Mount Rushmore Memorial in South Dakota.