American Freedom Museum: Fun Fact Friday
Q: What popular stuffed toy was named for a president?
A: The Teddy Bear. The adventurous Theodore 鈥淭eddy鈥� Roosevelt was a great outdoorsman and loved to hunt. However, a 1902 newspaper cartoon by Clifford Berryman showed the president in a different light. In Berryman鈥檚 drawing, Roosevelt refuses to shoot a defenseless bear cub that had been captured and held by a rope. Based on a true incident, the cartoon showed the kinder, gentler side of Roosevelt. Inspired by Berryman鈥檚 cartoon, Morris Mitchom created the first Teddy Bear, and his brainstorm was such a success that it led to the founding of the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. One of the first Teddy Bears lives at the Smithsonian. (Smithsonian Presidential Trivia)
