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Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was born on October 27, 1858, in New York City. He was the second of four children born to Theodore Roosevelt Sr., a businessman, and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, a socialite. -
Following the assassination of William McKinley in September 1901, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was named the 26th president of the United States. -
Theodore Roosevelt intervened in the 1902 Anthracite Coal Strike to prevent a severe energy crisis as winter approached, which threatened widespread hardship and social unrest. -
Theodore Roosevelt signed the Elkins Act into law on February 19, 1903, to prohibit railroads from offering secret rebates and to impose heavy fines on both the railroads and the shippers involved. -
On March 14, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt named Pelican Island, Florida, the first national wildlife refuge, creating the foundation for the National Wildlife Refuge System. He established the refuge as a federal bird reservation to protect the brown pelicans and other birds that were being hunted for their plumage. -
Theodore Roosevelt was elected to his first full term as President on November 8, 1904, and was inaugurated on March 4, 1905. -
Yosemite was brought under federal control during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency on June 10, 1906, when he signed the Yosemite Recession Bill. This act returned Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove to federal authority, making them part of Yosemite National Park. This outcome was the result of a historic camping trip in 1903 where naturalist John Muir persuaded Roosevelt to take this action. -
President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act on June 30, 1906, after public outcry from muckraking literature like Upton Sinclair's *The Jungle's exposed unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry. The Act prohibited the interstate traffic of mislabeled or adulterated food and drugs, leading to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to enforce its provisions. -
Devils Tower National Monument was the first United States national monument, established on September 24, 1906, by President Theodore Roosevelt. -
After leaving the presidency in 1909, Theodore Roosevelt embarked on a major hunting and scientific expedition to Africa. The trip was sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and financed with help from Andrew Carnegie. -
Theodore Roosevelt ran unsuccessfully for president on the Progressive "Bull Moose" Party ticket in the 1912 presidential election. He lost to Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson.