Did you know that the Teddy Bear was invented in honor of a U.S. President?

I knew there was a connection between the teddy and president Theodore Roosevelt, but I hadn’t read the story until I was creating the activity Back from the Future (see post Activities – Find it, Fix it!). It was such an unexpected sequence of events that led to the teddy bear being invented, I just had to share it with you!

The story goes like this: President Theodore Roosevelt was on a bear hunting trip in Mississippi on 14th November 1902. As the day wore on, Theodore was the only hunter who hadn’t shot and killed a bear. So, wanting to save the day, Roosevelt’s assistants captured a black bear and tied it to a willow tree. They summoned the president and proposed that he shoot it. However, Roosevelt didn’t think that was very sporting and refused. This was surprising, as Theodore Roosevelt had a reputation for being a big game hunter! News of the event spread quickly through newspaper articles across the country.

A political cartoonist called Clifford Berryman read an article and decided to lightheartedly make fun of the president’s refusal to shoot the bear. His cartoon appeared in the Washington Post on November 16, 1902.

Morris Michtom, a Brooklyn sweet shop owner, saw the cartoon and it gave him an idea. He and his wife Rose also made stuffed animals. He decided to create a stuffed toy bear and dedicate it to the president. He called it ‘Teddy’s Bear’, as Teddy is short for Theodore. He managed to get permission from the president to use his name and started to mass produced the toy bears. They were so popular that he soon founded the Ideal Toy Company.

One hundred and twenty years later, I wonder how many children have enjoyed the company of a teddy bear?! Definitely a question for the Incredible Counting Machine!

If anyone would like to have the original of my Teddy Bear painting, just let me know in a comment below!