Almost everyone has had one. A soft, slightly worn teddy bear that kept watch over bedtime, survived a few trips through the washing machine, and maybe still sits on a shelf somewhere. But have you ever wondered who Teddy was?
Here's the short answer: the teddy bear is named after Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, who was often called "Teddy." During a 1902 hunting trip in Mississippi, Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear that had been tied to a tree, calling it unsportsmanlike. A newspaper cartoon about the incident inspired a shopkeeper named Morris Michtom to make a stuffed bear and call it "Teddy's bear."
The Hunt That Went Sideways
In November 1902, Mississippi Governor Andrew Longino invited Roosevelt on a bear hunt. Most of the other hunters had already killed an animal. Roosevelt's attendants, led by a formerly enslaved man named Holt Collier, chased down an American black bear with hounds, clubbed it, and tied it to a willow tree.
They called Roosevelt over and suggested he shoot it. Collier himself told the president not to shoot a tied bear. Roosevelt refused, saying it would be unsporting. The story isn't quite as gentle as it's often told, though. He did order that the injured bear be killed to put it out of its misery.
A Cartoon Makes It Cute
On November 16, 1902, cartoonist Clifford Berryman drew the scene for The Washington Post. His first version showed a full-grown bear lassoed by a handler and a disgusted Roosevelt turning away. In later cartoons, Berryman made the bear smaller and cuter.
Morris Michtom, who ran a candy shop in New York City, saw the drawing and got an idea. He made a small, soft bear cub and set it in his shop window with a sign reading "Teddy's bear." The toys were an instant hit, and Michtom went on to found the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.
Meanwhile, in Germany
At almost the same time, a German toy company was making its own stuffed bear. The Steiff firm produced one from Richard Steiff's designs in 1902 and showed it at the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903. A buyer from New York ordered 3,000 of them.
Steiff's records show the bears were made, but there's no record of them arriving in America, and not a single one of that model has ever been found. A popular story says they were lost in a shipwreck, but one author argues that story only appeared in 1953 and that the bears simply weren't sturdy enough to survive. Michtom and Steiff almost certainly didn't know about each other's bears.
The President Who Hated the Nickname
Here's a funny twist. Roosevelt reportedly loathed being called "Teddy." Yet his nickname is now attached to one of the most beloved toys in the world.
After William Howard Taft won the 1908 election, toy companies tried to replace the teddy bear with a stuffed possum called the Billy Possum, inspired by Taft's fondness for "possum and taters." It never caught on the same way. The teddy bear, on the other hand, is still one of the most popular gifts for children, and grown-ups give them to show affection, congratulations, or sympathy more than a century later. Not bad for a story that started with a president saying no.
