Contemporary Historical Figures

Einstein. Ford. Hershey. Carnegie.

Theodore Roosevelt was certainly not the only influential person of his day. Learn more about the other men and women who had a profound impact on the nation and the world during this pivotal period in history.

Buffalonians of Note

John R. Hazel – Jurist and politician, perhaps best-known for administering the presidential oath of office to Theodore Roosevelt after the death of William McKinley

John Milburn – Prominent lawyer who served as the chairman of Buffalo’s 1901 Pan-American Exposition

Ansley Wilcox - Yale-educated lawyer who shared TR's interest in civil service reform and conservation; TR was inaugurated in the Wilcox home on September 14, 1901.

Mary Grace Wilcox - Leader within Buffalo society at the turn-of-the-century; actively involved in modifications made to the Wilcox home, including those that created the library where TR was inaugurated in 1901.

American Political Figures

Robert Bacon - American diplomat who briefly served as Secretary of State under Theodore Roosevelt

Marcus Alonzo Hanna - Republican Party leader and United States Senator who was a mentor and patron to President William McKinley

John Hay - American statesman whose career spanned nearly 50 years; served as private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln; he also served as Secretary of State under William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt

William McKinley - 25th President of the United States; assassinated in Buffalo, NY in 1901

Thomas Platt - Republican Party “boss” in New York State during the late 19th and early 20th centuries; sought to weaken TR’s political power by nominating him for the vice presidency in 1900

Elihu Root - American statesman and lawyer who served in the cabinets of Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt

William Howard Taft - 27th President of the United States

Benjamin Tillman – United States Senator from South Carolina noted for his outspoken support of white supremacy; nicknamed “Pitchfork Ben”

Woodrow Wilson - 28th President of the United States

Theodore Roosevelt's Family

Ethel Carow Roosevelt Derby - Fourth of TR’s six children

Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth - First of TR’s six children

Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt - TR’s college sweetheart and first wife

Archibald “Archie” Roosevelt - Fifth of TR’s six children

Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt - TR’s second wife; First Lady of the United States

Kermit Roosevelt - Third of TR’s six children

Martha “Mittie” Bulloch Roosevelt – Mother of President Theodore Roosevelt

Quentin Roosevelt - Youngest of TR’s six children

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. - Second of TR’s six children

Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. - Father of President Theodore Roosevelt

Business Leaders, Inventors and Innovators

Andrew Carnegie - Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist

Thomas Edison - Prolific American inventor; known as the “Wizard of Menlo Park”

Albert Einstein - German theoretical physicist who was just beginning his career during TR’s presidency

Henry Ford – Founder of the Ford Motor Company; popularized the moving assembly line and modern mass production; helped make the automobile affordable for the masses

Milton Hershey - American confectioner who founded the Hershey Chocolate Company

Guglielmo Marconi - Pioneer of radio communication

J.P. Morgan - American banker, financier, industrial organizer, and philanthropist

John D. Rockefeller - American business magnate and co-founder of Standard Oil

Orville & Wilbur Wright – Brothers and American inventors who created the world’s first practical airplane

Reformers

Jane Addams - American social work pioneer, sociologist, and advocate of women’s suffrage

John Mitchell - American labor leader; President of the United Mine Workers of America

John Muir - Scottish-born American naturalist and conservationist; founder of the Sierra Club

Jacob Riis - Social reformer and photographer who introduced TR to the hardships of life in the New York slums

Upton Sinclair – American writer and reformer; best known for writing The Jungle, a novel about the meatpacking industry in Chicago

Booker T. Washington - African-American leader and educator

Foreign Leaders

Edward VII – British king and emperor of India (1901-1910)

Emperor Meiji – Emperor of Japan (1867-1912)

Nicholas II – Russian emperor, or Tsar (1894-1917)

Wilhelm II – German emperor (Kaiser) and king of Prussia (1888-1918)

Miscellaneous

Geronimo - Apache religious and military leader

George Goethals – U.S. Army officer and civil engineer; best known for his role in building and opening the Panama Canal

Hermann Hagedorn – TR biographer; founding member of the Theodore Roosevelt Association

Leonard Wood –Physician and U.S. Army officer; with TR, commanded the 1st US Volunteer Cavalry (the “Rough Riders”) during the Spanish-American War