Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as T.R. or Teddy, was the 26th (1901–1909) President of the United States. He had been the 25th Vice President before becoming President upon the assassination of President William McKinley. Having taken the executive oath at the age of 42, Roosevelt became the youngest President in U.S. history. Within the Republican Party, he was a reformer who sought to bring his party's conservative ideals into the 20th Century. He broke with his friend and successor William Howard Taft and ran as a third party candidate in 1912 on the Progressive Party ticket. Before his presidency, Roosevelt served as a New York State assemblyman, Police Commissioner of New York City, U.S. Civil Service Commissioner, and Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Navy. As a colonel, he commanded his famous all-volunteer First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, the "Rough Riders" during the Spanish-American War. Roosevelt also served a successful term as Governor of New York. He was a famous historian and naturalist; his 15 books include works on outdoor life, natural history, U.S. Western and political history, an autobiography and a host of other topics. In his lifetime, he was considered a foremost authority on North American big game animals and Eastern birds. Roosevelt's 5th cousin was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Roosevelt took particular pride in leading what he called the "strenuous life". Roosevelt inspired and led the United States to understand the strategic significance of the Panama Canal that led to its construction, which began in 1904, to its completion in 1914 after he was President. He felt that the completion of the Panama Canal was his most important and historically significant international achievement. He was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize, winning its Peace Prize in 1906 for his successful mediation of the Russo-Japanese War. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on January 16, 2001 by President Bill Clinton after almost a century of controversy.