Theodore Roosevelt"Teddy"

Theodore Roosevelt was born October 27, 1858, into a wealthy New York family, and overcame severe childhood asthma partly by embracing a rigorous, physically active lifestyle that defined much of his public persona. He served in the New York State Assembly, as U.S. Civil Service Commissioner, as NYC Police Commissioner, and as Governor of New York before becoming McKinley's Vice President in 1901. He became President later that year at age 42 — still the youngest person ever to hold the office — after McKinley's assassination. His presidency (1901–1909) was defined by trust-busting, major conservation efforts that created numerous national parks and forests, construction of the Panama Canal, and an assertive foreign policy summed up in his phrase "speak softly and carry a big stick." He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for mediating the end of the Russo-Japanese War.