Theodore Roosevelt

Roosevelt, Theodore (1858-1919), 26th president of the United States (1901-09), the first president to exploit the public dimensions of his office in an age of mass communications, a reform leader at home and a skilled diplomat abroad. In his lifetime Roosevelt became a personal model, particularly for the country's youth, in a way that no public figure has matched. He was one of the most popular presidents in American history. The son of a wealthy, …

…that he would be the party's candidate in 1920. His four sons all fought in World War I, and the death of the youngest, Quentin, in combat as an aviator in August 1918, was a heavy blow. Roosevelt's health deteriorated during the final years of his life, partly as a result of tropical fevers contracted on an expedition to the Amazon region of Brazil in 1914. He died at his home in Oyster Bay, New York, on January 6, 1919.