Your TR Source
Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary provides information on Roosevelt’s actions after the 1908 Messina earthquake. The USS Celtic, already filled with provisions for the Atlantic fleet, was ordered to Messina and Roosevelt successfully encouraged Congress to pass a large appropriation for relief. He also assisted the Red Cross with their efforts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-10-28
Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary writes to Assistant Secretary of State Huntington Wilson to confirm receipt of and express appreciation for the “gold medal and diploma awarded to [Roosevelt] by His Majesty the King of Italy in connection with the earthquake disaster in Calabria and Sicily in 1908.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-19
President Roosevelt informs Secretary of the Treasury Cortelyou that he has authorized Secretary of the Navy Truman H. Newberry to expend $800,000 for the aid of victims of the 1908 earthquake in Messina, Italy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-18
President Roosevelt approves Secretary of the Navy Newberry’s suggestion regarding the Culgoa, and directs that it proceed to Messina, Italy, as soon as it has distributed the necessary supplies to the Great White Fleet. (Italy had recently suffered a major earthquake, and supplies were needed there for disaster relief.)
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-02
President Roosevelt confirms his previous verbal orders to Secretary of the Navy Newberry that the Celtic be sent to Messina, Italy, immediately, and the Culgoa be sent there after giving the necessary supplies to the Great White Fleet. (Both ships were sent to Messina with supplies to assist with disaster relief in the wake of a recent earthquake.)
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-02
Zappulla Emanuele was an English-speaking guide at Messina. After a disaster in which he lost everything, he and his family moved to Catania. The charity they receive is not enough and he asks if Theodore Roosevelt can help him. He wanted to see Roosevelt in Messina.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910
Vice President Fairbanks looks forward to seeing President Roosevelt later that evening and reports that Senator Benjamin R. Tillman’s speech has “fallen very, very flat.” Fairbanks also mentions the meeting to aid those affected by the recent earthquake in Messina, Italy, at which many praised Roosevelt’s role in the relief effort.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-11
James R. Reckner recounts the voyage of the Great White Fleet from December 1907 to February 1909. Reckner looks at the many ports of call made by the flotilla, and he notes some of the entertainment, ceremonies, and honors accorded the fleet as it made its way around the globe. Reckner highlights a change of command necessitated by the poor health of Admiral Robley D. Evans, and he emphasizes the difficulties faced by the ships by a lack of adequate coal supplies at various points in the cruise. Reckner also describes how a part of the fleet came to the aid of Messina, Sicily in the aftermath of an earthquake, and he outlines how important the voyage was to the relationship between the United States and Japan.
The article includes twenty-seven images from the Great White Fleet collection of Bill Stewart, including twenty photographs, five souvenirs, and two postcards.
Three photographs of the German royal family’s Mediterranean trip. In the first photograph, German Emperor William II, his wife Empress Auguste Viktoria, and their children Princess Viktoria Luise and Prince August Wilhelm disembark from a boat at Messina. The second photograph shows the same group on a carriage ride in Syracuse. The third photograph likely depicts Achillion Palace in Corfu, the family’s summer home.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908
Brown and white toned fundraising postcard produced to raise money for the relief effort associated with the Messina, Italy, earthquake. In the center is printed “Official/Italian Earthquake Relief/Memorial Card” along with December 28, 1908, which is the date of the earthquake. Produced by the American Italian General Relief Committee with the signatures of the chairman, vice-chairman, and treasurer. The card is number 24196. Clockwise around the outside of the card are images: Messina Before the Shock, President Roosevelt, W. H. Taft President of the American Red Cross, Red Cross on Field, Messina After Earthquake, King Victor Appalled, Queen Helena, King Victor Emanuel II. The reverse side is an endorsement statement by Theodore Roosevelt and the phase “Every Hour’s Delay Mean 1,000 Lives” along with details of the sale of the cards: Five cents, for sale everywhere.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1908
Theodore Roosevelt continues his journey to Africa, having been welcomed at several stops throughout the trip. Messina was a disaster in the wake of the recent earthquake, and Roosevelt was extremely proud of the small group of United States Navy men who were performing their jobs admirably and efficiently. Kermit Roosevelt is proving to be an ideal traveling companion.