Timeline of Theodore Roosevelt’s Life for Kids
THEODORE ROOSEVELT’S BIRTH
Theodore Roosevelt was born in New York City. His family was wealthy and well-respected. Roosevelt struggled with asthma as a boy, so his father encouraged him to exercise to stay healthy.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT MARRIES ALICE HATHAWAY LEE
Theodore Roosevelt met Alice Hathaway Lee at Harvard College when he was 19 years old. They got married on Roosevelt’s 22nd birthday in Brookline, Massachusetts. They had one child together, a girl named Alice.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT VISITS THE BADLANDS
Twenty-five-year-old Theodore Roosevelt visited the Badlands of North Dakota to heal from his grief over the deaths of his wife and mother. He loved living on the frontier and spent time hunting and ranching. He set up Elkhorn Ranch, where he spent a lot of time throughout his life.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT MARRIES EDITH KERMIT CAROW
After his wife Alice died, Theodore Roosevelt had not planned to get married again. However, he reconnected with his childhood friend, Edith Kermit Carow, and the two were married when Roosevelt was 28 years old. Theodore and Edith had five children together: Theodore Jr. “Ted,” Kermit, Ethel, Archibald, and Quentin.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT LEADS THE ROUGH RIDERS
During the Spanish-American War, 39-year-old Theodore Roosevelt was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the Rough Riders. He led his Rough Riders in a charge up San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill in Cuba. This battle eventually helped America win the war.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT IS ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Theodore Roosevelt ran as vice president to Republican William McKinley. They won the 1900 election. Roosevelt thought that at age 42, he would not go any farther in politics beyond being the vice president. That was not true.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT BECOMES THE TWENTY-SIXTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Less than a year after he was elected president, William McKinley was shot and killed. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th president when McKinley died. Roosevelt was 42 years old, the youngest person to become president.
THEODORE VISITS THE PANAMA CANAL
At age 48, Theodore Roosevelt visited the construction at the Panama Canal Zone in Central America. Workers were building a 50-mile-long canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Roosevelt’s visit was the first time a U.S. president traveled out of the country during their presidency.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT IS AWARDED THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize at age 48 for helping to end the Russo-Japanese War. He helped Russia and Japan organize negotiations and sign the Portsmouth Treaty.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT GOES ON A SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION TO AFRICA
When he was finished serving as president, 50-year-old Theodore Roosevelt took a trip to Africa with his son, Kermit, and a large crew of others. They collected thousands of natural specimens for the Smithsonian Institution in the United States. Kermit was the official photographer for their safari.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT LOSES THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TO WOODROW WILSON
Theodore Roosevelt ran for president one last time in 1912. During his campaign, he was shot on the way to a speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but survived. While Roosevelt lost the election to Woodrow Wilson, the close election brought important issues to people’s attention.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT EXPLORES THE AMAZON RAINFOREST IN BRAZIL
Theodore Roosevelt’s last big adventure, a journey down the River of Doubt in South America, took place when he was 55 years old. The trip through the jungle was difficult, and Roosevelt almost died when a leg injury led to infection. Roosevelt’s group brought back information for maps of the interior of Brazil and collected animal specimens for the Museum of Natural History.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT DIES
At 4:15 a.m., Theodore Roosevelt died in his sleep at his family’s home in Oyster Bay, New York. He was 60 years old.
