American Museum of Natural History

Report on the 65th Annual Dinner and Meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) held in Williamsburg, Virginia, on October 27, 1984, following the launch of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The report quotes from the address given by the President of the TRA, William Davison Johnston, and from the letter sent to the TRA by President Ronald Reagan. The report lists many of the guests in attendance, including Theodore Roosevelt historians and biographers, employees of the National Park Service, and members of the Roosevelt family. It also reviews the financial state of the TRA, noting that it had run a deficit for the past two fiscal years, covers the election of officers, and notes the changes implemented to the Board of Trustees. The report concludes with a review of gifts given to the leadership of the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

A photograph of Roosevelt with his granddaughter Grace Roosevelt and three photographs of various guests, dignitaries, and members of the Roosevelt family at the annual dinner accompany the report.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Paul Russell Cutright examines Theodore Roosevelt’s first two published works: lists of birds found in the Adirondack mountains and in Oyster Bay, New York. Cutright explores Roosevelt’s friendship with H.D. Minot who coauthored The Summer Birds of the Adirondacks in Franklin County, N.Y., and he also looks at Roosevelt’s Notes on Some of the Birds of Oyster Bay, Long Island. Cutright reviews the field work that went into each pamphlet, discusses some of the birds found in each, and compares the information found in them to observations in Roosevelt’s natural history notebooks. He also highlights the publications in which the pamphlets have been reprinted, and he lists the museums, libraries, and institutions that have these rare works in their collections. Two pages of endnotes and a biography of Cutright supplement the text.

The first page of The Summer Birds of the Adirondacks in Franklin County, N.Y. appears twice in the article along with a photograph of the Snow owl donated to the American Museum of Natural History by Roosevelt.

History of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal awarded by the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA). The article highlights twenty-one of the winners, lists the thirteen different fields of endeavor for which individuals are honored, and details the design of the medal by James Earle Fraser.  It also discusses the various venues at which the Medal has been awarded. An illustration of both sides of the medal accompanies the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1985

Listing of the recipients of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal awarded by the Theodore Roosevelt Association. 118 individual winners of the Medal are listed beginning in 1923 through 1985 while one Medal was awarded to an institution, the American Museum of Natural History in 1959. The medal winners list is followed by a list of individuals, couples, and businesses under the title of “The Sagamores” who sponsored the April 20, 1985 award dinner of the Theodore Roosevelt Association. The list is comprised of thirty-two individuals or couples, including seven members of the Roosevelt family, and twelve businesses or organizations. A brief introduction to the list explains the Native American origins of Theodore Roosevelt’s home Sagamore Hill. 

This notice covers the research grants awarded by The American Museum of Natural History in New York City from its Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund for 1983. Fifty grants were awarded, with the largest grants given to three researchers highlighted in the article. The article lists the members of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Committee which administers the fund, traces the growth of the program in numbers of applicants, awards granted, and value of the fund, and it traces the roles Theodore Roosevelt and his father played in the history of the museum.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1983

Paul Russell Cutright examines the donation of Theodore Roosevelt’s bird collection to the Smithsonian Institution and the American Museum of Natural History. Cutright focuses on the donation to the Smithsonian since it was very large, 622 bird skins, and he details how the collection was cataloged, where and to whom individual specimens were dispersed, and he highlights some of the more notable specimens like the Snowy owl.

Pictures of Theodore Roosevelt and his father and a copy of two pages of the accession records of the Smithsonian accompany the article. The cover of this issue features a picture of the Snowy owl shot, prepared, and donated to the American Museum of Natural History by Roosevelt.

A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association along with the members of its executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees is on the second page of the article.

This four page edition of “News and Notes” is divided into six sections and is mostly concerned with a series of celebrations and commemorations of the 125th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth. The article details the celebrations held in Indianapolis, Indiana, in New York State in New York City, Oyster Bay, and Buffalo, and at Harvard University. The Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace hosted events as did the American Museum of Natural History. Oyster Bay held a parade while the Indianapolis gathering saw the planting of a tree at the home of Roosevelt’s Vice President, Charles W. Fairbanks. The meeting at the American Museum of Natural History saw the awarding of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal to four recipients. A dinner was held in Buffalo while at Harvard, John Morton Blum gave a lecture.

The article also discusses the 1983 Theodore Roosevelt Public Speaking Contest for the New York City public high schools held at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, and it details the premiere of the documentary film The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. “News and Notes” closes with an obituary for Helen M. MacLachlan who worked for both the Theodore Roosevelt Association and the National Park Service at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace in New York City.

A photograph from the Oyster Bay parade and two photographs of members of the Roosevelt family at Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, D.C., are included in the article.

John A. Gable gives a detailed report on the annual dinner of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) held on the 125th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth on October 27, 1983, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Gable provides some history about the Museum, quotes from the address given by President Ronald Reagan, and lists some of the various dignitaries and politicians who sent messages to the assembled guests. An excerpt from the speech given by the TRA President, William Davison Johnston, the presentation of a check to the American Museum of Natural History, and the awarding of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal to four individuals are also covered in detail. Gable also lists many of the guests, including members of the Roosevelt family, and closes with remarks on some of the other events held to mark the 125th anniversary of Roosevelt’s birth.

Seven photographs of various guests, speakers, award winners, and members of the TRA leadership accompany the article. Photographs of the equestrian statue of Theodore Roosevelt in front of the American Museum of Natural History and of President Ronald Reagan addressing the dinner guests on a video screen are also found in the article.

A listing of the officers of the TRA, along with the members of its executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees, is found on the article’s second page.

President Reagan addresses members of the Theodore Roosevelt Association gathered at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on the occasion of the Theodore Roosevelt’s 125th birthday. Reagan emphasizes the donation of the Nobel Peace Prize medal won by Roosevelt to the White House, and he refers to Roosevelt as a “New World Renaissance Man.”

Two photographs of Reagan at the White House meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association on October 27, 1982, accompany the message.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Listing of the recipients of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal awarded by the Theodore Roosevelt Association. 116 individual winners of the Medal are listed beginning in 1923 through 1983, while one Medal was awarded to an institution, the American Museum of Natural History, in 1959.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1984

This notice covers the research grants awarded by The American Museum of Natural History in New York City from its Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund for 1984. Forty-eight grants were awarded, with the largest grants given to three researchers highlighted in the article. The article lists the members of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Committee, which administers the fund, traces the growth of the program in numbers of applicants, awards granted, and value of the fund, and it highlights the roles Theodore Roosevelt and his father played in the history of the museum.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1984

Report on the sixty-third annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) held on October 30, 1982 at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site in Buffalo, New York. The notice contains the remarks given by the TRA President, William Davison Johnston, and it details the reports given by the Executive Director, the Treasurer, and the chair of the nominating committee. The notice also lists some of the guests in attendance, lists the past presidents of the TRA, and provides brief biographies of some of the leaders of the association.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1983

History of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) that chronicles the TRA’s work to preserve historic sites associated with Theodore Roosevelt and its work in collecting documents, providing natural history research grants, and publishing books and a journal on Roosevelt.

A photograph of Theodore Roosevelt seated at a desk accompanies the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

This edition of “News and Notes” highlights some of the ceremonies marking the 125th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth. It details some of the content and arguments put forth in Paul Schullery’s American Bears: Selections from the Writings of Theodore Roosevelt, provides a report on the donations and finances of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) for fiscal year 1982, and reviews a colloquium on historic preservation held at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. The column also covers Roosevelt birthday celebrations in Buffalo, New York, and Tampa, Florida, the annual meeting of the committee overseeing the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard University, and the TRA Public Speaking Contest for the New York public high schools. The column concludes with a notice about the Centennial of Medora, North Dakota.

A photograph of Selwa Roosevelt and the logo of the Medora, North Dakota, Centennial appear in the column.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

This notice covers the research grants awarded by The American Museum of Natural History in New York City from its Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund for 1982. Forty-three grants were awarded, with the largest grants given to six researchers highlighted in the article. The article lists the members of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Committee which administers the fund, and it traces the growth of the program in numbers of applicants, awards granted, and value of the fund.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1982

In this edition of the “News and Notes” column, John A. Gable notes the publication of David McCullough’s study of Theodore Roosevelt’s family and Anna C. Roosevelt’s work on the prehistoric peoples of Venezuela. He acknowledges the contributions of those authors who wrote pieces for this issue of the Journal, and he details the research grants and fellowships awarded by the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund at the American Museum of Natural History. Gable also discusses the annual essay contest sponsored by the Theodore Roosevelt Association at the New Rochelle, New York public high school.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1981

David McCullough looks at the relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and his father, Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. He notes the elder Roosevelt’s important role in establishing the American Museum of Natural History, and he outlines differences between the two, notably the elder’s robust health and the many childhood ailments of the younger Roosevelt. McCullough examines the younger Roosevelt’s time at Harvard, especially his interest in natural science, and he establishes that he led a life of privilege unknown to most Americans. 

Two pictures, one of each Roosevelt, accompany the article.

John A. Gable provides a comprehensive report on the work of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) in 1981. He details the TRA’s support of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, and he notes the association’s financial support of Youngs Memorial Cemetery, the adjacent Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary in Oyster Bay, and the American Museum of Natural History. Gable also reports on the association’s support of student essay and speaking contests, additions to the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard University, and the Roosevelt Genealogical Project. He notes the growth in membership and dues for the TRA, and he lists the articles published in 1981 in the TRA Journal. Gable highlights the work of David McCullough and Edmund Morris on Theodore Roosevelt and gives examples of the TRA’s support of the various historical sites associated with the life of Roosevelt.

A drawing of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Historical Site and photographs of John A. Gable with members of the faculty of Richland College and with TRA President William Johnston and David McCullough are included in the report.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Paul Russell Cutright examines the thirteen natural history notebooks that Theodore Roosevelt kept during his childhood and young adult years. He notes the dates, the subjects, and the locations of the observations kept in each notebook. Cutright focuses on Roosevelt’s love of birding and most of the notebook excerpts deal with this subject. He highlights Roosevelt’s skill at identifying birds by their calls and songs, notes his considerable observation skills, and credits various naturalists and friends who influenced Roosevelt.

Two photographs of Roosevelt as a child and young man and a full-page picture of a mounted snowy owl that Roosevelt prepared accompany the article.

A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association along with the members of the executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees is on page two of the article.

Article about the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) that explains its purpose and work, including the preservation of many historical sites associated with Theodore Roosevelt. It touches on the TRA’s support of the American Museum of Natural History, notes its support of Roosevelt scholarship, and highlights some of its past and present leadership.

A drawing of Roosevelt from the neck up appears in the middle of the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal