Why was the teddy bear named after Theodore Roosevelt?

MonkeyOnALeash

"The name Teddy Bear comes from one of Theodore Roosevelt's hunting trips. There were several other hunters competing, and most of them had already shot something. A few friends of Roosevelt who were hunting with hounds treed a bear after a long and exhausting chase and suggested Roosevelt shoot it. He refused to shoot it himself, deeming this unsportsmanlike, but instructed that the treed bear be killed to put it out of its misery, and it became the topic of a political cartoon. A small town toy shop owner saw the cartoon, and asked the president if she could manufacture stuffed bears named as "Teddy's Bears". He approved, and the name has stuck ever since." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear " In November 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt and some of his friends went on a hunting trip to Mississippi. After hours of searching, Roosevelt and his group had not come across any wild animals. Finally, the group did track down and surrounded a helpless bear. One of the guides asked the president to shoot the bear so he could win a hunting trophy. The president refused, and news reporters throughout the country spread the story of Roosevelt's kind act. Not long after this took place, a famous cartoonist named Clifford Berryman drew a cartoon based on Roosevelt 's rescue of the bear. When a store owner in Brooklyn saw the cartoon, he decided to make toy bears to sell in his shop. He asked president Roosevelt for permission to use the name “"Teddy's Bear"” for his toys, as a reminder of the bear Roosevelt had set free." http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0872806.html " There are several stories of how the first Teddy Bear began. A lady named Magarete Steiff (1847-1909) who was stricken with polio and spent most of her life in a wheel chair, had been successfully producing stuffed animals made of felt in Germany......The increased demand and the popularity of the bear culminated with the most popular of all with President Roosevelt (1858-1919). Mr. Roosevelt was one day hunting in Mississippi in 1902 when a small bear cub was captured for him to shoot. He refused to do so. The next day, The Washington Post had created a cartoon depicting the bear and the president. Soon the bear became known as the "Teddy" bear since Mr. Roosevelt's first name was Theodore or 'Teddy'. Store owners Morris and Rose Michtom capitalized on this and started making their own version of the Teddy Bear and led to the creation of a successful company named, the Ideal Toy Company in the United States....." http://teacakesandteddybears.com/OriginofTeddyBear.htm Sep 16 07, 12:22 PM