18 Nov 1902: The birth of the “Teddy Bear”
Nowadays, everyone knows these toys as Teddy Bears, but few people know that they were named after President Theodore “"Teddy"” Roosevelt.
Today, 112 years later President Theodore Roosevelt had probably no idea that a hunting trip to Mississippi with his friends would result in the birth of the famous ‘Teddy Bear”.
After hours of searching, Roosevelt and his group had not come across any wild animals. Finally, the group did track down and surrounded a helpless bear. One of the guides asked the president to shoot the bear so he could win a hunting trophy. The president refused and news reporters throughout the country spread the story of Roosevelt’s kind act.
Not long after this took place, a famous cartoonist named Clifford Berryman drew a cartoon based on Roosevelt ‘s rescue of the bear. When a store owner in Brooklyn, Morris Michton, saw the cartoon he decided to make toy bears to sell in his shop. He asked president Roosevelt for permission to use the name “”Teddy’s Bear”” for his toys, as a reminder of the bear Roosevelt had set free. Nowadays, everyone knows these toys as Teddy Bears, but few people know that they were named after President Theodore “”Teddy”” Roosevelt.
Source: https://www.factmonster.com
