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Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, in New York City. The future 26th U.S. president was born into a wealthy family at 28 East 20th Street, which is now a National Historic Site. -
The Elkins Act was passed in 1903, not 1910; the 1910 act was the Mann-Elkins Act. The 1903 Elkins Act was a U.S. federal law that amended the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 to make it illegal for railroads to offer or for companies to accept rebates, which were secret discounts to large shippers. -
Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the 26th President of the United States on September 14, 1901, following the death of President William McKinley. An anarchist named Leon Czolgosz shot McKinley on September 6, and he died eight days later from complications of his wounds. -
Theodore Roosevelt won his first full term as president in the 1904 election. He took office unexpectedly on September 14, 1901, following the assassination of President William McKinley. -
President Theodore Roosevelt established Pelican Island in Florida as the nation's first national wildlife refuge on March 14, 1903, via executive order. The refuge was created to protect brown pelicans and other birds from market hunting and has since grown to become the first unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System -
The Anthracite Coal Strike began on May 12, 1902, and ended on October 23, 1902, after 163 days. The strike was initiated by 147,000 members of the United Mine Workers demanding better wages, shorter workdays, and union recognition, and it significantly disrupted the nation's fuel supply, leading to President Theodore Roosevelt's intervention. -
In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt placed Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove under federal control as part of Yosemite National Park, returning them from state to federal management. This was the direct result of his 1903 camping trip with naturalist John Muir, where Muir persuaded Roosevelt of the importance of preserving the wilderness. Roosevelt signed the Yosemite Recession Bill to achieve this, creating a major expansion of the park.
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President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act on June 30, 1906, which banned the interstate transport of mislabeled and adulterated food and drugs. The passage of this landmark legislation was heavily influenced by muckraking journalism, particularly Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle, which exposed the unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry, and by the long-standing advocacy of Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley. -
President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument on September 24, 1906, using the newly enacted Antiquities Act. There are no specific event details for the 1906 proclamation, but the proclamation itself was the historic event, based on the tower's unique geology. -
Theodore Roosevelt's presidency ended on March 4, 1909. A little over two weeks later, on March 23, 1909, he and his expedition party set sail from New York for an African safari. -
In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt ran for president as the candidate for the Progressive Party, popularly known as the "Bull Moose Party". Though his bid was unsuccessful, he mounted one of the most successful third-party campaigns in US history.