A1-16 · The First Teddy Bear

The First Teddy Bear

Do you know why we call toy bears "teddy bears"? The story started in the USA in 1902.

In November 1902, Theodore Roosevelt, the president of the United States, was on a hunting trip in Mississippi. His friends were sad because the president didn't shoot any animals. So they tied an old black bear to a tree and called the president. But Roosevelt refused to shoot it. "No," he answered. "That isn't fair!"

A few days later, a newspaper, The Washington Post, published a cartoon of the story. People loved it.

In Brooklyn, New York, Morris and Rose Michtom owned a small candy store. Rose looked at the cartoon and created a soft toy bear. They placed it in the store window and called it "Teddy's bear". (Teddy was the president's nickname.) The story says that they asked the president, and he agreed.

The bear was very popular. A lot of children wanted one, and the Michtoms started a big toy company. At the same time, a company in Germany, Steiff, also produced toy bears.

Today, teddy bears live in children's rooms all over the world.