Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt, born in New York City on October 27, 1858, was the twenty-sixth President of the United States, and a dynamic, colorful, multi-talented, charismatic man who became a hero to millions of Americans. Although he had a sickly childhood, Roosevelt overcame the handicaps of severe asthma and poor eyesight to become a cowboy in the "wild west," the Colonel of the "Rough Riders" in the Spanish-American War, and a field naturalist and hunter in Africa and South America, leading what he called "the strenuous life." In politics and government, Roosevelt was a reformer who championed the "Square Deal" for all Americans. He was also the President who established the United States as a world power, built up the Navy, preached the doctrine of "speak softly and carry a big stick," and became the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize.