Who was he?
Theodore Roosevelt. The President Behind the Name.
Meet Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, whose extraordinary personality, principles, and unexpected encounter with a bear gave the world one of its most beloved names.
Born in 1858, Roosevelt lived a life that seemed almost too big for one person. He was a president, soldier, author, explorer, rancher, conservationist, historian, and avid outdoorsman. He was also one of the most recognizable and colorful personalities ever to occupy the White House.
Roosevelt became president in 1901 following the assassination of President William McKinley. At just 42, he brought enormous energy to the presidency and quickly established himself as a force in American public life.
His interests were remarkably broad. He wrote books, read voraciously, explored the American West, led the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War, championed conservation, and helped establish a lasting legacy of protected American lands.
And then, in 1902, there was the bear.
The President Meets a Bear
Roosevelt traveled to Mississippi for a bear-hunting expedition. His guide, Holt Collier, eventually tracked and captured a black bear.
Roosevelt was given the opportunity to shoot the animal.
He refused.
Under the circumstances, he considered killing the bear unsportsmanlike. The decision itself was relatively simple. What happened next was anything but.
A newspaper cartoonist named Clifford Berryman turned the incident into an illustration that captured the public imagination.
The bear became associated with the president. The president became associated with the bear.
And a name was born.
From Roosevelt to Teddy
Roosevelt was widely known as Theodore, and the nickname Teddy became increasingly associated with him through popular culture.
Roosevelt himself reportedly disliked being called Teddy.
But history had other plans.
After the Mississippi incident became national news, a Brooklyn shopkeeper named Morris Michtom created a stuffed bear inspired by the cartoon. He asked Roosevelt for permission to use his name.
The rest is history.
A President. A Bear. A Name.
More than a century later, the connection remains surprisingly strong. Theodore Roosevelt’s name lives on in places, parks, books, monuments, and institutions throughout the country.
But perhaps one of his most unexpected legacies is something much simpler:
TEDDY.
A president’s name became a bear. And the bear became an icon.
Explore the History
A local connection
Teddy in San Diego
The story of TEDDY is American. But it has a San Diego connection.
Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency helped shape the events that would transform San Diego, from his support for the Panama Canal to the city’s spectacular 1915 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park.
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1858
Theodore Roosevelt Is Born
Theodore Roosevelt is born in New York City on October 27, 1858. Decades later, he will become the 26th President of the United States and one of the most influential figures in the development of the American West.
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1901
Roosevelt Becomes President
Roosevelt becomes president following the assassination of William McKinley. At 42, he is the youngest person ever to become president of the United States at that time. His presidency will have a lasting impact on America’s military strength, conservation, foreign policy, and expansion.
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1902
The Bear
Roosevelt travels to Mississippi on a bear-hunting expedition. He refuses to shoot a bear that has been captured and tied up for him. A newspaper cartoon turns the incident into a national sensation. The cartoon inspires a Brooklyn toy maker to create a stuffed bear.
“Teddy’s Bear” is born. -
1903
Roosevelt Comes to San Diego
Theodore Roosevelt visits San Diego during his western tour. San Diego is still a relatively young city (officially incorporated on March 27, 1850, shortly before California became the 31st U.S. state), but it has enormous ambitions. Its location on the Pacific gives it strategic importance, and local leaders are looking toward a future in which San Diego will become a major American city and gateway to the Pacific. Roosevelt’s visit becomes part of that emerging history.
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1903–1904
The Panama Canal Takes Shape
During Roosevelt’s presidency, the United States takes control of the Panama Canal project and construction accelerates. For Roosevelt, the canal is about much more than connecting two oceans — it is a strategic project that will strengthen America’s position as a Pacific and Atlantic power. For San Diego, the future canal is potentially transformative: a completed canal could make San Diego far more important as a Pacific port and commercial center.
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1907
Roosevelt and Conservation
Roosevelt’s conservation program dramatically expands the amount of land protected by the federal government. Among the forests established during his presidency is the San Diego National Forest, created in 1907. The forest is later renamed the Cleveland National Forest in honor of President Grover Cleveland. The name changes. The Roosevelt connection remains part of the story.
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1909
Roosevelt Leaves the Presidency
Roosevelt leaves office after seven years as president. But his influence continues. The Panama Canal is nearing completion, America’s Pacific presence is expanding, and San Diego is preparing for a future that looks very different from the small city Roosevelt had visited.
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1914
The Panama Canal Opens
The Panama Canal officially opens on August 15, 1914. Roosevelt is no longer president, but the canal is one of the signature achievements of his administration. For San Diego, the opening creates a new opportunity: the city now has a direct reason to demonstrate its importance as America’s gateway to the Pacific.
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1915
San Diego Celebrates
San Diego opens the Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park on January 1, 1915. The exposition celebrates the opening of the Panama Canal and showcases San Diego to the world. What began as a relatively small city on the edge of the country presents itself as a city with a major future. The architecture, gardens, cultural institutions, and public spaces created for the exposition would leave a lasting mark on San Diego.
Balboa Park would never be the same.
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1916
The Celebration Continues
The exposition is extended for a second year. The Panama-California Exposition becomes one of the defining events in San Diego’s history and helps establish the city’s identity as a major destination and cultural center.
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2026
250 Years of America
Now, more than a century later, San Diego can bring those stories together again. America celebrates its 250th anniversary in 2026. The teddy bear, born from a story about an American president, is once again being created and celebrated as a symbol of American history.
And the TEDDY Connection?
The connection isn’t that Roosevelt created San Diego’s exposition. It is more interesting than that.
And running alongside that history is another story:
Two stories begin with the same man. One helped shape San Diego’s future. The other became one of the world’s most beloved cultural icons.
From Theodore Roosevelt to TEDDY.
From 1902 to 2026.
From the White House to San Diego.
The story keeps going.