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Theodore Roosevelt is born
Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, in New York City to a well-to-do family. Roosevelt was educated at home before going on to Harvard University, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1880. From 1881 to 1884, he was a member of the New York state legislature. -
Energy Crisis
The 1902 energy crisis was one of two oil price shocks that occurred during the 1900s; the other occurred in 1979. Increased pricing and supply worries sparked panic purchasing in the gasoline market. In twelve months, crude oil prices almost quadrupled to over $40 per barrel. -
Elkins Act passed
The measure passed Congress with a landslide, and President Roosevelt signed it into law on February 19, 1903. The Elkins Act expressly banned rebates and subjected both the railroad company that provided the refund and the shipper who received it to liability under the law. -
Pelican Island, Florida named first national wildlife refuge
Roosevelt established the National Wildlife Refuge System on March 14, 1903, with the creation of the first national wildlife refuge on Pelican Island. He would go on to establish 50 more federal bird reserves and four national game preserves inside the refuge system throughout his tenure. -
Named President when McKinley is assassinated
On September 6, 1901, while his Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt, was in Vermont for a speaking engagement, President William McKinley was assassinated at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. McKinley's health deteriorated during the following eight days, and he died on September 14. Roosevelt eventually stepped up and became President. -
Wins first full term as President
Alton B. Parker, the Democratic challenger, was defeated by incumbent Republican President Theodore Roosevelt. As a result of his victory, Roosevelt became the first president to win a full term after ascending to the office after the death of his predecessor. -
Passage of Pure Food And Drug Act
President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 on the same day as the Federal Meat Inspection Act. The 1906 Act was the first federal legislation regulating foods and medicines. Its scope was restricted to foods and drugs traveling interstate. -
Yosemite under Federal Control
After a 17-year effort by John Muir and the Sierra Club, Roosevelt signed a federal legislation making Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove a component of Yosemite National Park in 1906, while designating Arizona's Petrified Forest a national park in the same year. -
Devil’s Tower, Wyoming, named first national monument
When President Theodore Roosevelt established the site as the nation's first national monument in 1906, the term Devils Tower was adopted and the name became official. -
Leaves presidency, visits Africa
The Smithsonian–Roosevelt African Expedition was an American presidential expedition to Africa headed by Theodore Roosevelt and sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution. Its mission was to gather specimens for the Smithsonian's new Natural History museum, the National Museum of Natural History, currently known as the National Museum of Natural History. -
Runs for presidency, unsuccessfully for Bull-Moose Party
As a result of Theodore Roosevelt losing the Republican Party presidential nomination to his old protégé and conservative opponent, incumbent President William Howard Taft, the Progressive Party, often known as the "Bull Moose Party," emerged in the United States as a third party in 1912.