1. An avid hunter, Roosevelt was having particularly bad luck on a bear-hunting trip with colleagues and reporters in 1902; after a few days he still hadn't killed a bear. In order to appease the president, his fellow hunters captured a black bear and clubbed it half-to-death, then suggested that Roosevelt shoot it so he could get his kill. Roosevelt refused, insisting that the hunters' treatment of the bear was unsportsmanlike. When store owner Morris Michtom heard the story, he seized on it creating stuffed animals that he called "Teddy's Bear", in honor of the president.

2. Roosevelt negotiated an end to the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, a feat for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first American to win the Nobel Prize in any field.
3. Roosevelt wrote 18 books including History of the Naval War of 1812
   
   , which is considered one of America's first modern historical works. According to historian Michael J. Crawford, "Roosevelt’s study of the War of 1812 influenced all subsequent scholarship on the naval aspects of the War of 1812 and continues to be reprinted. More than a classic, it remains, after 120 years, a standard study of the war."
4. In 1897, Roosevelt was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy, a post that he resigned in 1898 in order to fight in the Spanish-American War as part of the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment aka the Rough Riders. For his actions during the Battle of San Juan Hill, he would be nominated for the Medal of Honor. However, due to a dispute between Roosevelt, McKinley, and the Secretary of War over troop conditions he was denied. He would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2001, making him the only president to have ever been awarded the Medal of Honor.
[caption id="attachment_3708" align="aligncenter" width="270" caption="Colonel Roosevelt and the Rough Riders after capturing San Juan Hill"]

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5. In 1912, displeased with his successor William Howard Taft, Roosevelt decided to run for a third term. Unbeknownst to him, this decision greatly displeased one John Schrank, who claimed to have been visited by the ghost of William McKinley on the 11th anniversary of McKinley's death. In this visit, McKinley blamed his death on Roosevelt and ordered Schrank to avenge his death. Schrank was already angry that Roosevelt would break tradition and run for a third term, so McKinley's visit was all it took for him to decide to kill Roosevelt. On October 14, 1912, as Roosevelt was about to deliver a speech in Milwaukee, WI, Schrank shot him in the chest from about six feet away. Under normal circumstances this would have meant certain death, but Roosevelt was lucky. In his breast pocket he was carrying a 100 page speech (which had been folded twice) and a metal eyeglass case, both of which absorbed the force of the bullet, causing little more than a flesh wound, and Roosevelt would go on to give his speech without seeking medical attention. If it hadn't been for what he was carrying in his pocket, Roosevelt's life would have been cut tragically short.

Bonus: At the age of 55, Roosevelt embarked on an expedition to explore the 'River of Doubt' a 1000-mile long river located in a remote part of the Amazon Basin. During the expedition, Roosevelt contracted malaria as well as an infection in his leg. At one point he was so sick that he insisted that the expedition go on without him. Nevertheless, Roosevelt survived, the expedition was successful, and the river was renamed Rio Roosevelt in his honor. Unfortunately, Roosevelt's health never fully recovered and he continued to suffer from the effects of the trip, eventually passing away in 1919 at the age of 60. Do you enjoy learning new facts about the President? Check out the EiH 2011 Calendar of the Presidents. For a limited time, use the coupon code JACKOLANTERN355 at checkout, to get 25% off your order (expires 10/31)!