“Nothing could be more lonely and nothing more beautiful than the view at nightfall across the prairies to [the Badlands’] huge hill masses, when the lengthening shadows had at last merged into one and the faint after-glow of the red sunset filled the west.” –Theodore Roosevelt
MARRIES
Roosevelt marries Alice Hathaway Lee on his 22nd birthday
1880
OCTOBER 27
ELECTED TO NEW YORK ASSEMBLY
In the New York State Assembly, Roosevelt (standing, right) holds his first elective office
1881
NOVEMBER 8
THEODORE ROOSEVELT IV
Roosevelt’s first book, The Naval War of 1812, meets with critical acclaim
1882
AT AMNH
Roosevelt Medallion
Theodore Roosevelt Medallion (1st floor)
The medallion features Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park
This medallion, situated in the center of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall, depicts the area where Roosevelt lived in North Dakota, which is now Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park. While living in the Badlands, Roosevelt saw the dangers posed by the wanton destruction of wildlife and the misuse of natural resources. “There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country,” he said.
HUNTS IN THE DAKOTAS
Travels to the Dakotas to hunt bison; sees dwindling wildlife populations
When he arrived in the Dakotas (above), Roosevelt couldn’t find any animals, and was saddened that one of his favorite American mammals—the bison (Bison bison)—was being hunted almost to extinction. The eye-opening trip led him to take up conservation as a personal and political cause.
Despite his dismay over vanishing bison, Roosevelt’s passion for the West was only strengthened by his two-week trip. He promptly bought Maltese Cross Ranch (above) and began a cattle ranching business.
During the trip, Roosevelt shared Maltese Cross Ranch’s one room with his two guides (above). He embraced cowboy life, happily trading the comforts of New York for the hard work of ranching in the so-called Badlands.
By the time Roosevelt visited the Badlands in 1883, the bison population on the Great Plains had dwindled from nearly 30 million to 1,000. In 1956, bison were successfully reintroduced to the area surrounding Roosevelt’s ranch.
Thanks to those conservation efforts, veterinary staff can now export animals to zoos, national parks and Native American lands, while some 700 bison near Medora, North Dakota—in what was designated Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in 1947—continue to thrive.
1883
SEPTEMBER
TRAGEDY STRIKES
Two days after the birth of his first child, Roosevelt’s wife and mother die of unrelated illnesses on the same day, in the same house. In his journal he writes, “The light has gone out of my life”
1884
FEBRUARY 14
BABY ALICE GOES TO ANNA ROOSEVELT
Roosevelt places his new baby, Alice Lee Roosevelt, in the care of his sister Anna
1884
FEBRUARY 17
MOVES TO THE DAKOTAS
Seeking solace from personal tragedies, Roosevelt moves to the West to run his cattle ranch
Elkhorn Ranch Finding that his first ranch, Maltese Cross (or Chimney Butte), didn’t provide the solitude he yearned for, Roosevelt chose a secluded spot near the Little Missouri River for Elkhorn Ranch (above), his “home ranch” for two years.
The Cattle Business
Roosevelt threw himself into cattle ranching and got off to a modestly successful start. But in the winter of 1886-87 severe cold and storms killed more than 60 percent of his cattle, ending his ranching business.
Elkhorn Site Threatened
At the Theodore Roosevelt National Park today, the primary threat to ecosystems and wildlife is incompatible development. Proposed roads and bridges, oil and gas
drilling, mineral rights and ranching interests threaten the area’s stability.
Conservation Efforts Due to development, the remoteness that Roosevelt cherished is now threatened and in 2012, Elkhorn Ranch was listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of the 11 most endangered historic places.
1884
JUNE
THEODORE ROOSEVELT IV
Sagamore Hill, Roosevelt’s main home and future “summer White House” in Oyster Bay, New York, is completed in 1885
1885
PRESIDENT OF STOCKMEN ASSOCIATION
Roosevelt leads the Little Missouri organization intended to enforce ranching rules and regulations
1885
MARCH
AT AMNH
Coyote Diorama
Hall of North American Mammals (1st floor)
Coyote diorama in the Hall of North American Mammals on the first floor
In May 1903, Theodore Roosevelt camped for three nights with Sierra Club founder John Muir in Yosemite National Park, California, depicted in this diorama. It was the beginning of a friendship and frequent collaboration on conservation matters. Muir was a strong proponent of enlarging the existing Yosemite National Park area and in 1906, Roosevelt, convinced by Muir, did just that.
BEGINS WRITING ON THE WEST
His books distinguish Roosevelt as an authority on Western wildlife, landscape and peoples
“In descending a sheer wall of rock the big-horn holds all four feet together and goes down in long jumps, bounding off the surface almost like a rubber ball every time he strikes it." –Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
“Sinewy, hardy, self-reliant, their life forces [cowboys] to be both daring and adventurous, and the passing over their heads of a few years leaves printed on their faces certain lines which tell of dangers quietly fronted and hardships uncomplainingly endured.” –Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
“From the low, long veranda [of Elkhorn Ranch], shaded by leafy cotton-woods, one looks across sand bars and shallows to a strip of meadowland, behind which rises a line of sheer cliffs and grassy plateaus.” –Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
“In summer time we are not much within doors, for we rise before dawn and work hard enough to be willing to go to bed soon after nightfall.” –Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
“The free, open-air life of the ranchman, the pleasantest and healthiest life in America, is from its very nature ephemeral. The broad and boundless prairies have already been bounded and will soon be made narrow.” –Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
1885
FAMILY EVENT
Family Bird Walk
MEETS GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL
The Audubon Society founder and Forest and Stream editor becomes one of Roosevelt’s many advisors
1885
LOSES NEW YORK MAYORAL RACE
After moving back east to campaign for New York City mayor, loses to Abram Hewitt. “I had a bully time,” he says
1886
NOVEMBER 2
RE-MARRIES
At 28, Roosevelt marries his childhood sweetheart, Edith Carow
Young Love
During the summer before starting at Harvard, Roosevelt (standing, left) formed a strong relationship with Edith (seated, left). Though little is known of their relationship, it’s thought that the two had talked of a future together.
Reconnecting
In October 1885, Roosevelt saw Edith for the first time in years. Their old flame was rekindled and by November, the two were engaged.
World Travels
In 1910, Edith visited Egypt and the Sudan with her husband, who had just finished a year-long expedition in Africa.
Lifelong Partners
Theodore and Edith had a famously successful marriage. They loved and respected each other, and Theodore often turned to her for advice. She offered a calming counterpart to Roosevelt’s boundless energy and enthusiasm.
1886
DECEMBER 2
DEVASTATING CATTLE LOSS
While the Roosevelts honeymoon in Europe, a severe winter in the Dakotas kills most of his cattle and ends his ranching career
1886
WINTER
MOVES TO SAGAMORE HILL
Over the next 10 years, Theodore
and wife Edith raise six children in this home
"As the children grew up, Sagamore Hill remained delightful for them," Roosevelt wrote in 1913. "There were picnics and riding parties, there were dances in the north room—sometimes fancy dress dances..."
Though Roosevelt planned for three-year-old Alice (above, age 18) to remain with his sister, Edith brought her into the family at Sagamore Hill.
Roosevelt encouraged his children to play vigorously and explore the natural world, pastimes he had often had to forgo during the asthmatic spells of his boyhood. He reveled in moments when he joined—and often planned—the children’s adventures around Oyster Bay.
Roosevelt led his children, nieces and nephews and their friends on hikes around Oyster Bay. The group of boys and girls followed their leader, rowing, swimming or climbing over any obstacle in their way.
Sagamore Hill was filled not only with eight Roosevelts—Theodore, Edith, Alice, Ted, Kermit, Ethel, Archie and Quentin—it also housed numerous pets. Dogs, ponies, parrots, badgers and more were as comfortable at Sagamore Hill as the Roosevelts.
"There are many kinds of success in life worth having. It is exceedingly attractive to be a successful…writer, or a President, or a ranchman, or the colonel of a fighting regiment…But…a household of children…makes all other forms of achievement lose their importance by comparison." –Theodore Roosevelt
1887
AT AMNH
Alaska Brown Bear Diorama
Hall of North American Mammals (1st floor)
Alaska brown bear diorama in the Hall of North American Mammals on the first floor
The Boone and Crockett Club—an organization of hunter-conservationists cofounded by Roosevelt—sponsored this diorama in the 1940s. In the 1880s, this group lobbied for the protection of bison and other wildlife in Yellowstone National Park, which had been created without a means to enforce regulations limiting hunting and development.
COFOUNDS BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB
The organization of hunter-conservationists emphasizes protection of bison populations in Yellowstone National Park
1887
PUBLISHES THE WINNING OF THE WEST
Completed in 1896, this influential four-volume work describes cowboy life, stark landscapes and the closing of the Western frontier
1889
AT AMNH
John Burroughs Corridor
John Burroughs Corridor (1st floor)
A photograph of Roosevelt at Burroughs' home, Slabsides, in West Park, New York, is on display in the John Burroughs Corridor on the first floor
One of the greatest American nature writers was Roosevelt's longtime friend John Burroughs, who also had a long association with scientists at the Museum. Roosevelt revered Burroughs's writing. Today, the Museum is home to the John Burroughs Association, and an exhibit dedicated to Burroughs can be found on the first floor. Since 1926, the Association has awarded the John Burroughs Medal to authors who share the naturalist's acute eye for nature, dedication to field study and creative yet controlled prose style. The prestigious award recognized influential writers such as Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold and John McPhee.
MEETS JOHN BURROUGHS
A famous nature writer, Burroughs becomes a close friend and advisor
Roosevelt became so fond of Burroughs (above at his home in West Park, New York), that he called him “Oom John,” or “Uncle John” in letters. Years later, Burroughs chronicled the adventures of their 1903 trip to Yellowstone in Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt.
“Why, I cannot now recall that I have ever met a man with a keener and more comprehensive interest in the wild life about us—an interest that is at once scientific and thoroughly human.” -Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt
“He is doubtless the most vital man on the continent, if not the planet, today. He is many sided, and every side throbs with his tremendous life and energy…” -Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt
“When the sleigh would… begin to drag heavily, [Roosevelt] would bound out nimbly and take to his heels, and then the three of us…would follow suit, sometimes reluctantly on my part.” -Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt
1889
MARCH
APPOINTED CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONER
In his first national political office, Roosevelt serves as one of three civil service commissioners
1889
MAY 7
PRESIDENT OF NYC POLICE COMMISSIONERS
Roosevelt (third from right) is elected president of the New York City Board of Police Commissioners and serves for two years
1895
MAY 6
YOUTH PROGRAM
YouthCaN
ASSEMBLES HIS ROUGH RIDERS
Gathers friends from New York, Harvard and the Badlands for his volunteer cavalry regiment
1898
SPRING
SERVES WITH ROUGH RIDERS
During the Spanish-American War, Colonel Roosevelt serves with his “Rough Riders”
Roosevelt (front row, third from right) recruited more than 1,200 Rough Riders from all backgrounds. New York aristocrats, cowboys, college athletes and Native Americans volunteered for the regiment and joined Roosevelt in Cuba.
While serving in the Rough Riders, Roosevelt (standing, left) was fond of his two war horses, Rain-in-the-Face and Texas. During his off hours, he spent time with the Rough Riders’ adopted pets: Cuba the dog, Teddy the golden eagle and Josephine the cougar.
On July 1, 1898, Roosevelt (depicted here on horseback) led the charge up San Juan Heights, giving U.S. forces a strategic position above Santiago de Cuba. Roosevelt called it “the great day of my life.” In 2001 he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
1898
MAY-SEPTEMBER
PARTNERSHIP
Urban Advantage
GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK
Elected governor of New York State. He serves for two years
1898
NOVEMBER 8
AMNH COURSE
Bird Walks
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY
A lifelong bird-lover, Roosevelt praises the work of AMNH ornithologist Frank Chapman
1899
PATRICIA O’TOOLE
President William McKinley, with Roosevelt as his running mate, wins a decisive victory; Roosevelt becomes vice president
For more information, visit amnh.org or any ticketing desk at the Museum.
YouthCaN
DATE
Ongoing
TIME
Fridays, 5:30pm-7:30pm
PRICE
Free with registration
YouthCaN is a youth-led organization that uses technology to inspire, connect, and educate people worldwide about environmental issues. Through a network of conferences, activities and events, the organization unites environmentally active youth. Participants facilitate an exchange of ideas about the environment and empower others to make a difference in their own communities. The Museum hosts the NYC YouthCaN chapter, and an annual conference brings hundreds of students together at the Museum to share their work and passion for conservation.
Urban Advantage
DATE
Ongoing during the school year
Building on Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy of bringing together a variety of New York institutions around a single cause, Urban Advantage creates a consortium of informal science institutions that are helping to improve science literacy in schools. Urban Advantage is a standards-based partnership program designed to improve students' understanding of scientific inquiry through collaborations between urban public school systems and science cultural institutions.
Family Bird Walk
DATE
Saturday, June 1, 2013
TIME
9 am, 11 am, & 1 pm
PRICE
$12
Birds were an enduring passion for Theodore Roosevelt. Families can share the wonder of observing birds by joining a Museum naturalist for a bird walk in Central Park. Young explorers and their parents will learn how to find and identify the many bird species and habitats found in our own back yard. (Binoculars and bird guides included.)
Bird Walks
DATE
Ongoing seasonally (Fall, Winter, & Spring)
TIME
Early morning and lunch time
PRICE
See website for details.
Share Theodore Roosevelt’s passion for birds by joining a Museum bird walk! Observe the vibrant migration of birds in Central Park with Museum naturalists. Learn how to use field marks, habitat, behavior, and song as aids in identification. Bird field cards included.
Science Mentoring Research Program (SRMP)
DATE
Ongoing
PRICE
See website for details.
The Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP) offers high school students a one-year research opportunity with a Museum scientist. Participants will also take part in a mandatory laboratory skills course in the summer of 2013 and advisory sessions throughout the year.
Inspired by Nature: Creative Writing with Hannah Tinti
DATE
Five Tuesdays, February 5-March 5, 2013
TIME
6pm-8pm
PRICE
$325 ($295 for members)
“The farther one gets into the wilderness, the greater is the attraction of its lonely freedom.” —Theodore Roosevelt
This five-session creative writing class will focus on the natural world, with each session held in a different Museum hall. Read excerpts from Theodore Roosevelt’s notebooks and from the works of other great nature writers, and draw on the exhibits for onsite writing exercises and prompts. Learn the basics of nature writing as well as tips on description, structure, research, setting, and theme to complete your own writing projects. This class is open to beginners, as well as to any writer looking to take their work to the next level.
Rock ON!
DATE
Saturday, May 11, 2013
TIME
11am, 1pm, & 2:30pm
PRICE
$12
Roosevelt created his own museum as a child—you can learn to curate your own collection, too! Bring in your treasures and learn the art of creating a museum collection. Work with scientists to identify rocks and minerals, then categorize and curate a collection display you can take home.
Nature’s Compass
DATE
Thursday, May 9, 2013
TIME
6:30pm
In the spirit of Roosevelt’s passion for the natural world, authors James Gould and Carol Gould discuss their latest book, Nature’s Compass. They share the various ways animals navigate around the world – invisible sensitivities, mysterious focuses, and incredible mental abilities – and explore the many factors that are endangering animal navigation in today’s climate. Their goal is to answer the question of whether the disruption of migratory paths because of habitat destruction and global warming affects or endangers animal species.
Young Naturalist Awards
Henry Lim, Chris Raxworthy
Henry Lim, a winner of the 2011 AMNH Young Naturalists Award, presented his project to President Barack Obama at the White House in 2012.
DATE
Annual
The Young Naturalist Awards is a science competition for students in grades 7 through 12 that carries on the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt by recognizing students who have investigated questions in the areas of biology, Earth science, ecology, and astronomy.
Bat Walks
DATE
Spring 2013
TIME
8:30pm
PRICE
$40/adults, $25/children ages 12 and younger
A native New Yorker, Theodore Roosevelt was adept at discovering wildlife in the middle of the city. Set out on an urban-wildlife exploration of your own by joining a Museum bat walk! At dusk, bats leave the warm spaces under city roofs to feed on flying insects. Brad Klein, Danielle Gustafson, and other members of the New York City Bat Group will lead a walk through Central Park. Aided by a detector that amplifies the bats’ otherwise inaudible high-frequency chirps, bat watchers monitor and catalogue species that call the city home.
THE FOREST UNSEEN: One Square Meter of Growth
DATE
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
TIME
6:30pm
PRICE
$15
David Haskell recently completed a project in which he studied 1 square meter of old growth forest for a year: an exploration at the smallest scale possible, but one that took him to the edges of biological knowledge. He describes this journey in his forthcoming book.
CONSERVATION, WILDERNESS, & THE AMERICAN DREAM Hosted by Tom Brokaw
Theodore Roosevelt articulated a vision of America that emphasized natural places as elements that define a nation's character and that are foundational to the individual's rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. For citizens today, those notions may be controversial, if not completely remote, from contemporary ideas of America. Experts in science, conservation, humanities and democratic principles will illuminate the 21st century imperatives that can contribute to reconstructing and expanding an American identity forged in an intimate relationship to its natural history.
HOST AND MODERATOR Tom Brokaw, an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He now serves as a Special Correspondent for NBC News and works on documentaries for other outlets.
PARTICIPANTS Douglas Brinkley, Presidential Historian and fellow in history at the Baker Inistitue and a professor of history at Rice University. Brinkley's most recent publications include The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America.
Lisa Graumlich, Dean of the University of Washington's College of the Environment. A scientist known internationally for research on climate and ecosystems - and who as a track record of getting wide-ranging groups of experts to focus on environmental issues.
Michael Novacek, Senior Vice President and Provost of Science at the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Novacek was instrumental in establishing the Museum's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, Institute for Comparative Genomics, and the new research program in astrophysics.
Rick Ridgeway, is Patagoina's Vice President of Environmental Initatives where he implements the secodn two of the company's three-part mission statement to make the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
This program is part of the celebration of the reopening of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial at the American Museum of Natural History.
Animal Drawing
DATE
Thursdays, March 7 through April 25
TIME
7pm-9pm
PRICE
$160 (Materials not included)
Draw on Theodore Roosevelt’s passion for nature by learning how to sketch the wildlife depicted in Museum dioramas. The celebrated dioramas, skeletons and other distinctive features of the Museum serve as the setting for an intensive after-hours drawing course with Stephen C. Quinn, author of Windows on Nature: The Great Habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History. Learn about the gifted artists who created the world-class dioramas as you sketch subjects in their “natural” environments.
Lang Science Program
DATE
Ongoing
PRICE
See website for details.
This year, 5th-grade students will be chosen to become part of an exciting multi-year educational program with the Museum. These students will experience the Museum through classes incorporating hands-on exploration, behind-the-scenes adventures, and content-rich programming that focuses on biology, anthropology, and physical sciences (astronomy and Earth science). The program begins with a three-week summer program based at the Museum and continues into the school year with meetings that take place on two Saturdays each month. This alternating summer-school year cycle continues until the program’s conclusion, which coincides with the students’ graduation from high school.
Identification Day
DATE
Saturday, May 11, 2013
TIME
12pm-4pm
PRICE
Free with Museum Admission
Drawing on Theodore Roosevelt’s passion for collecting and identifying, the Museum hosts an annual Identification Day event. Bring your shells, rocks, insects, feathers, bones and artifacts to the Museum. Scientists will attempt to identify your discoveries while displaying some specimens from the Museum's collections. Items identified in previous years include a whale jawbone, a green beetle bracelet from Brazil and a 5,000-year-old stone spear point from Morocco.
Urban Biodiversity Network
Discover new ways to “capture” nature! In the spirit of Theodore Roosevelt’s excitement about discovering nature and collecting specimens, the Museum offers Conservation Biology courses for high school students. Students document the data they collect digitally, using open-source digital tools, such as the app “Leaf Snap.”
Windowfarms
DATE
November 2012-August 2013
The Museum is transformed into a living example of a hydroponic food garden more than 20 feet high and 30 feet wide.
This vertical garden will hang from a large glass wall in the Museum’s west-facing Weston Pavilion entrance. Part of the major exhibition Our Global Kitchen: Food, Nature, Culture and built by a Brooklyn-based company called Windowfarms, this garden will grow about 250 edible plants.
Water Course
This online environmental studies course for teachers focuses on water. Learn how water shapes our planet on every level, from the chemical properties of the H2O molecule to the central role of water in global climate. You will examine why water is such a critical resource, the impact of human consumption on ecosystems, and the implications of water management.
Climate Change Ology
Find out about Earth’s climate, why it’s changing, and what we all can do to help conserve energy. Climate Change OLogy, a website for kids of all ages, presents over a dozen activities that explain the difference between weather and climate, give instructions for building your own terrarium, and explore the connections between human activity and rising atmospheric carbon dioxide. For more information, visit amnh.org.
Climate Change
This online course for teachers explores the science of climate change. Learn how the climate system works; what factors cause climate to change across different time scales; how scientists use models, observations and theory to make predictions about future climate; and the possible consequences of climate change for our planet. For more information, please visit amnh.org.
Biodiversity OLogy
Find out why biodiversity matters--and what you can do about it--on OLogy, the Museum’s website for kids of all ages. Play an endangered species game, learn how to create scientific illustrations by observing animals in your backyard, or join scientists as the travel around the world saving species, and much more. For more information, please visit amnh.org.
BioBulletin
Visit the Hall of Biodiverstiy for the latest in biodiversity research and conservation. The large screen near the entrance to the Hall of North American Forests shows a continuous loop of documentaries about scientists at work around the globe, and regular Snapshots of Earth from above that highlight natural ecosystems and the human footprint on the landscape. For more information, please visit amnh.org.
iNaturalist
To honor Theodore Roosevelt’s passion for nature and his conservation legacy, the American Museum of Natural History is teaming up with iNaturalist.org on New York is Wild! Join this project to use your observation skills to identify New York City invertebrates, share your findings, and learn how to protect these exceptional species.
Visit amnh.org/Roosevelt or www.inaturalist.org and look for the project NEW YORK IS WILD! to find out more about how YOU can get involved.