NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Kermit Roosevelt

Kermit Roosevelt I (October 10, 1889 – June 4, 1943) was a son of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt (also known as TR). Born into TR's remarkable family, Kermit was an explorer on two continents with his father, graduate of Harvard University, a courageous soldier serving in two world wars, a successful businessman, and a gifted writer. Despite his many talents and interesting life, he fought a life-long battle with depression and alcoholism. Image File history File links Kermit_roosevelt_20s. ... Image File history File links Kermit_roosevelt_20s. ... Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years). ... Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... This article is about the office in the United States. ... Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... This article is about a military rank. ... A businessman (sometimes businesswoman, female; or businessperson, gender neutral) is a generic term for a wide range of people engaged in profit-oriented enterprises, generally the management of a company. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder, or unipolar depression when compared to bipolar disorder) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ...

Childhood

Kermit was born at the Roosevelt residence Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, New York. He was the second child born to Theodore Roosevelt and his second wife, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. Kermit's oldest brother was Theodore Jr., nicknamed Ted and Teddy. His younger siblings were Ethel, Archibald, and Quentin. He also had an older half sister, Alice, from his father's first marriage to Alice Roosevelt. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (747x722, 116 KB) Pres. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (747x722, 116 KB) Pres. ... Lt. ... Theodore Roosevelt. ... Archibald Roosevelt was the fourth child of president Theodore Roosevelts marriage to his second wife Edith Carow. ... Alice Roosevelt, taken around her debut in 1902. ... White House portrait Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt (August 6, 1861 - September 30, 1948), second wife of Theodore Roosevelt, was First Lady of the United States from 1901 to 1909. ... Ethel Roosevelt Derby in 1912 - Ethel was Theodore Roosevelts second daughter Ethel Carow Roosevelt Derby (August 13, 1891-December 10, 1977) was the youngest daughter and fourth child of the President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt. ... Image File history File links Kermit_Roosevelt_1902. ... Image File history File links Kermit_Roosevelt_1902. ... Sagamore Hill was the home of President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. ... Oyster Bay is the name of a hamlet and census-designated place on the North Shore of Long Island in Nassau County in the state of New York, USA. The hamlet is also the site of a station on the Long Island Rail Road and the eastern termination point of... Theodore Roosevelt. ... Ethel Roosevelt Derby in 1912 - Ethel was Theodore Roosevelts second daughter Ethel Carow Roosevelt Derby (August 13, 1891-December 10, 1977) was the youngest daughter and fourth child of the President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt. ... Archibald Roosevelt was the fourth child of president Theodore Roosevelts marriage to his second wife Edith Carow. ... Lt. ... Alice Roosevelt, taken about 1900. ... Alice Hathaway Lee was only seventeen when she first met Theodore Roosevelt on Oct 18, 1878 Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt (July 29, 1861 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts â€“ February 14, 1884 in Manhattan, New York) was the first wife of Theodore Roosevelt and the mother of their only child together, Alice...

As a child, he was a delicate boy with little resistance to illness and infection. His nurse, knowing of his small appetite, would entice him to eat steak by calling it "tender-lion." Kermit had a natural flair for language and was an avid reader. Always a sensitive child, he didn't take well to teasing and his siblings had to learn to respect his quiet and introspective nature. As a young child, he showed a talent for writing that would lead to his recording his experiences in World War I that he published in book form.

Education

After attending the Groton School, Kermit attended college at Harvard. In 1908 as a freshman, he and TR, his father, both of whom loved nature and outdoor sports went on a safari in Africa. After this trip and a swing through Europe, Kermit returned to Harvard and completed a four years of study in two and one-half years. Image File history File links Tr_kermit_sagamore_1910_cropped. ... Image File history File links Tr_kermit_sagamore_1910_cropped. ... Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... Sagamore Hill was the home of President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. ... Groton School is a private, Episcopal, college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, USA. It enrolls approximately 350 boys and girls, from the eighth (IInd Form) through twelfth grades (VIth Form). ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... Map of Africa 1890 Look up safari in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ...

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1039x694, 325 KB) Summary Source: scanned from The River of Doubt by Candice Millard 2005. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1039x694, 325 KB) Summary Source: scanned from The River of Doubt by Candice Millard 2005. ...

River of Doubt South American expedition

One of Kermit's father's most popular books, Through the Brazilian Wilderness, was about the heroic father-and-son expedition into the Amazon Basin Brazilian jungle in 1913. Kermit and TR went on what would become known as the Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition, exploring the Brazilian jungle with famous Brazilian explorer Colonel Cândido Rondon. During this expedition, they discovered the Rio of Doubt, later renamed Rio Roosevelt in honor of the President as well as branch of that river would be named the Rio Kermit in Kermit's honor. // â€œAmazonianâ€ redirects here. ... The initial party. ... CÃ¢ndido Mariano de Silva Rondon (1865-1956) was a Brazilian explorer who is most famous for exploring with Teddy Roosevelt during Roosevelts exploration of the Rio Roosevelt in the Mato Grosso state in Brazil. ... The Roosevelt River (Rio Roosevelt, sometimes Rio Teodoro) is a Brazilian river. ...

At the time of the expedition, Kermit was newly engaged to Belle Willard, daughter of the U.S. Ambassador to Spain. Kermit's mother, Edith, was very concerned about his father's health and the difficulties of a new expedition and asked Kermit to accompany his father. Kermit was not excited about delaying his marriage, but decided it best to go with his father. Events would demonstrate that this was a fortuitous decision. Had Kermit not gone to South America, in all likelihood, his famous father would have not returned alive.

While the expedition started well, a change was made to the goals of the expedition and it was decided that an exploratory trip would be made to trace the River of Doubt from its source to determine its path through hundreds of kilometers/miles of uncharted rain forest. The difficulties of the harsh climate with its torrential downpours, incredibly rough terrain, unseaworthy low-running dugout canoes, a seemingly endless series of difficult rapids and waterfalls, diminishing food supplies, the drowning of one expedition member and the murder of another and a host of other problems turned what began as a scientific expedition into a race against time to save the life of a dying former president. Malaria and a serious infection resulting from a minor leg wound had developed into a life-threatening situation. These illnesses so weakened TR, that by six weeks into the expedition, TR had to be attended day and night by the expedition's physician and his son, Kermit. TR considered his own condition a threat to the survival of the others. With the loss of many of their dugout canoes and provisions, and his father sick from malaria and infections, Kermit raced against time to bring his father back alive from the jungle. In a letter to a friend later, TR recalled considering taking a lethal dose of morphine because his sickness had reduced him to total dependence on the others and this wasn't the Roosevelt way. Kermit courageously stood up to the dying old man, and told him that he was bringing him back literally "dead or alive" and if he died, he would be an even bigger burden to the expedition. Without a doubt, it was Kermit who saved his father's life when this expedition had degenerated into a horrible ordeal. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x681, 42 KB) Summary Kermit Roosevelt, son of Theodore Roosevelt sits under a tree during his expedition with his father down the River of Doubt in 1913. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x681, 42 KB) Summary Kermit Roosevelt, son of Theodore Roosevelt sits under a tree during his expedition with his father down the River of Doubt in 1913. ... The Roosevelt River (Rio Roosevelt, sometimes Rio Teodoro) is a Brazilian river. ... // â€œAmazonianâ€ redirects here. ... A rainforest is a forested biome with high annual rainfall. ... Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease that is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. ... Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease that is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. ...

During that expedition, Kermit himself came close to death by malaria. In order to save quinine for his father, he downplayed his own malarial sickness until the expedition's doctor was forced to give it to him by injection. By that time, his attempts to disguise his losing fight with the disease had come close to killing him. Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease that is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. ... Quinine (IPA: ) is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic (fever-reducing), antimalarial, analgesic (painkilling), and anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. ...

TR was having chest pains when he tried to walk, his temperature soared to 103 and, at times he was delirious. By now so weakened that he could not even sit up in his dugout but had to lie on his back. When the expedition finally reached civilization, TR had to be carried by off by stretcher. He had lost over fifty pounds. Kermit and all the expedition's members' physical conditions had suffered as well.

In the final analysis, without Kermit's rope and canoe-handling skills preserving the dugouts from destruction (the one thing that would have quickly and fatally ended the expedition), his unflinching courage, dogged determination, - in short, the devotion and loving support of a dedicated son, it is unlikely that TR would have survived the expedition. Besides the newly-named Rio Roosevelt, one branch of the river was named the Rio Kermit in Kermit's honor. Today, the Rio Roosevelt is commonly called the Rio Teodoro by Portuguese-speaking Brazilians because of pronunciation difficulties they have with the name 'Roosevelt'. The Roosevelt River (Rio Roosevelt, sometimes Rio Teodoro) is a Brazilian river. ...

Upon his return by ship to New York, friends and family were startled at TR's physical appearance, for he was no longer the vibrant man with a seemingly endless supply of energy that they had always known. Indeed, TR would write a friend that the trip had cut his life short by ten years. He did not realize, at that time, just how accurate his analysis would prove to be. The effects of the South America expedition had so greatly weakened TR that they significantly contributed to his declining health. For the rest of his life, he would be plagued by flareups of malaria and inflammation so severe that they would require hospitalization.^[1] Image File history File links TR_1913_South_American_Trip_Members. ... Image File history File links TR_1913_South_American_Trip_Members. ... Father Zahm, CSC, 3rd from left, Theodore Roosevelt and his son Kermit, and surviving members of the 1913 expedition up the River of Doubt in the Amazon Rainforest Father John Augustine Zahm, CSC (June 11, 1851 â€“ November 10, 1921) was a Holy Cross priest, author, scientist, and South American explorer. ... Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... The Roosevelt River (Rio Roosevelt, sometimes Rio Teodoro) is a Brazilian river. ... Map of the Amazon rainforest ecoregions as delineated by the WWF. Yellow line encloses the Amazon rainforest. ...

When TR and Kermit had recovered from their ordeal, they found that they had a new battle on their hands. In professional circles, there was doubt about their claims of having discovered and navigated a completely uncharted river over 1000 km long. TR and Kermit had to fight for official recognition of the expedition's discovery of the newly-named Rio Roosevelt. Toward this end, TR went to Washington, DC, and spoke at a standing-room-only convention to defend his discovery. His official report and its defense silenced the critics and TR was able to triumphantly return to his home in Oyster Bay. The Roosevelt River (Rio Roosevelt, sometimes Rio Teodoro) is a Brazilian river. ... Oyster Bay is the name of several places: Oyster Bay, New York, a hamlet in the town of Oyster Bay (town), New York, on Long Island, New York, United States of America Oyster Bay, Florida, a bay in Lee County, Florida, United States of America Oyster Bay, New South Wales...

TR would record these harrowing experiences in one of his most popular books, Through the Brazilian Wilderness. The 1913 expedition would later be recounted in the Book, "The River of Doubt."

Marriage in 1914

After the Amazon trip, in 1914 Kermit married Belle Willard, daughter of the U.S. Ambassador to Spain. They had four children:

From 1914 to 1916 Kermit was Assistant Manager for the National City Bank in Buenos Aires. Kermit Roosevelt Kermit Kim Roosevelt, Jr. ... The National City Corporation (NYSE: NCC) is one of the ten largest banks in America (among others, in terms of deposits). ... For other uses, see Buenos Aires (disambiguation). ...

Military Service in World War I

In 1917 as he was about to be transferred to a Russian branch, the U.S. entered the World War. Kermit accepted a Captaincy in the British Army and saw hard fighting in the Near East, later transferring to the United States Army. While his other brothers had had summer training at Plattsburg, New York, Kermit had missed out on this training. Image File history File links Kermit_Roosevelt. ... Image File history File links Kermit_Roosevelt. ...

Kermit joined the British Army to fight in the Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) theater of World War I. He was attached to the 14th Light Armoured Motor Battery of the Machine Gun Corps, but the British High Command decided they could not risk his life and so they made him an officer in charge of transport (Ford Model T cars). From then on, however, Captain Roosevelt made it his main aim in life to get his Ford in front of the Armor. With his incredible talent for languages, within months of being posted to Mespotamia, he had mastered spoken as well as written Arabic and was often relied upon as a translator with the locals. As in Africa with his father, he was courageous to the point of recklessness. He was awarded a well-earned Military Cross. When the United States joined the war, Kermit got transferred to the AEF in Europe. In 1918, he learned that his youngest brother, Quentin, had been shot down over France and had been buried by the Germans with full military honors. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Southwest Iran. ... â€œThe Great War â€ redirects here. ... The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC were the first to use tanks in combat... The Ford Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie and the Flivver) was an automobile produced by Henry Fords Ford Motor Company from 1908 through 1927. ... The Military Cross (MC) is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries. ... Officers of the American Expeditionary Forces and the Baker mission The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF was the United States military force in World War I. The AEF helped the French defend the Western Front during the Aisne Offensive in May. ... Lt. ...

Post WW I Experience

After the expedition, Roosevelt went into business, he founded the Roosevelt Steamship Company and the United States Lines. Ever a Roosevelt, Kermit continued to enjoy outdoor activities with his brothers. United States Lines was a shipping company that operated ocean liners from 1921 to 1969, most famously the SS United States. ...

In 1929 Kermit went to China with his brother Theodore Roosevelt II in search of a Giant Panda to stuff and put on display in a museum. Image File history File links Kermit_and_Ted_roosevelt. ... Image File history File links Kermit_and_Ted_roosevelt. ... Theodore Roosevelt. ... Binomial name Ailuropoda melanoleuca (David, 1869) Giant Panda range Subspecies A. melanoleuca melanoleuca A. melanoleuca qinlingensis The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) (black-and-white cat-foot) is a mammal classified in the bear family, Ursidae, native to central-western and southwestern China. ...

World War II Service

Early in 1940, when Britain was at war with Germany, Kermit negotiated a commission in the British Army with the assistance of his friend, Winston Churchill — who was by then Prime Minister of Britain.^[2] His first task was to lead a contingent of British volunteers for the Winter War in Finland.^[3] According to a contemporary story published in Picture Post, he had resigned from the British Army to lead the expedition.^[4] This story was probably a necessary cover so that he would be able to travel with the volunteers through neutral countries. However, before the expedition could be launched, Finland was forced to make peace with Russia. Kermit served with distinction in a raid into Norway and was later sent to North Africa, where there was little action at the time.^[5] He resumed drinking and was debilitated by an enlarged liver complicated by a resurgence of malaria. At the end of 1940, he was returned to England and was discharged from the army early in the following year.^[6] Kermit appealed this discharge all the way to the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. But Churchill, after reviewing his record, upheld the medical discharge.^{[citation needed]} Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can) (30 November 1874 â€“ 24 January 1965) was an English statesman, soldier and author. ... A prime minister is the most senior minister of a cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... Combatants Finland Soviet Union Commanders Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Kliment Voroshilov, later Semyon Timoshenko Strength 250,000 men 30 tanks 130 aircraft[1][2] 1,000,000 men 3,000 tanks 3,800 aircraft[3][4] Casualties 26,662 dead 39,886 wounded 1,000 captured[5] 126,875 dead... Picture Post, a magazine that pioneered photojournalism along with its competitor Lilliput, was first published in the United Kingdom in 1938. ... Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease that is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. ... A prime minister is the most senior minister of a cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ...

When he returned to the US, he turned to drinking to forget his problems. So worried was his wife, about his deteriorating condition, that she went to the extreme of seeking the help of Kermit's cousin, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (also known as FDR). FDR ordered the FBI to track him down and he was brought back to his family. FDR thought it would be best if he were moved as far as possible from some of his friends who were such a negative influence on him. FDR had given him a commission as a major in the United States Army, and had him transferred and posted to Fort Richardson, Alaska, where he worked as an intelligence officer and helped establish a territorial militia of Eskimos and Aleuts. FDR redirects here. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... The United States Army is the largest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ... Fort Richardson is a United States Army installation in the U.S. state of Alaska, adjacent to the city of Anchorage. ... Official language(s) none Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area Ranked 1st - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,855 kmÂ²) - Width 808 miles (1,300 km) - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km) - % water 13. ...

Battle with Depression and Related Alcoholism

A tendency toward depression seems to have come from Kermit's father's side of the family. His grandmother, Theodore Roosevelt's mother, Martha Bulloch had led a life with supreme highs as well as debilitating lows. His father's brother, Elliott Roosevelt I was afflicted with chronic bouts of depression. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... Martha Bulloch age 22 - Was She the inspiration for the Scarlett OHara character? Martha Bulloch Roosevelt (July 8, 1835 â€“ February 14, 1884) was the mother of US President Theodore Roosevelt and the paternal grandmother of Eleanor Roosevelt. ... Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt (February 28, 1860- August 14, 1894) was the father of Anna E. Roosevelt and the brother of Theodore Roosevelt. ...

Death

In Alaska, far from home, Kermit continued to fight his life-long battle with chronic depression and alcohol. He committed suicide on June 4, 1943, by a self-inflicted gunshot.^[7] His death was reported to his mother, Edith Kermit Roosevelt, whose favorite son he was, as a heart attack. Sensitive to his tragic demise, for many years, the cause of death continued to be described as heart disease. Only in later years did the true circumstances of his death become known. He was interred in Fort Richardson National Cemetery near Anchorage, where a memorial stone gateway was erected in his honor in 1949. Suicide (Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of intentionally taking ones own life. ... White House portrait Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt (August 6, 1861 - September 30, 1948), second wife of Theodore Roosevelt, was First Lady of the United States from 1901 to 1909. ... This page deals with the cessation of life. ... Fort Richardson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located on the Fort Richardson United States Army installation near Anchorage, Alaska. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

He was survived by his wife Belle and four children: Kermit "Kim" Roosevelt, Jr., Joseph Willard Roosevelt, Belle Wyatt Roosevelt, and Dirck Roosevelt. Kermit Roosevelt Kermit Kim Roosevelt, Jr. ...

Trivia

Kermit is a city located in Winkler County, Texas. ... Winkler County is a county located in the state of Texas. ... Genera Aepyceros Alcelaphus Antidorcas Antilope Cephalophus Connochaetes Damaliscus Gazella Hippotragus Kobus Madoqua Neotragus Oreotragus Oryx Ourebia Pantholops Procapra Sylvicapra Taurotragus Tragelaphus and others Antelope are herbivorous mammals of the family Bovidae, often noted for their horns. ... USS Kermit Roosevelt (ARG-16), a Luzon-class repair ship, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Kermit Roosevelt. ...

Works

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... James Elton West, best known as Jim West, is the former mayor of Spokane, Washington. ... Frederick Russell Burnham, DSO (1861-1947), an American scout and world travelling adventurer is best known for his service to the British Army in Colonial Africa and for teaching woodcraft (i. ... Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 - January 30, 1948), the younger of the Wright brothers, seen as one of the fathers of heavier-than-air flight. ... Lincoln Ellsworth (May 12, 1880 - May 26, 1951) was a U.S. explorer. ... George Bird Grinnell (1849 â€“ 1938) was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer. ... Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, USN (October 25, 1888 â€“ March 11, 1957) was a pioneering American polar explorer and famous aviator. ... Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... Charles Lindbergh with the Spirit of St. ... Lincoln Ellsworth (May 12, 1880 - May 26, 1951) was a U.S. explorer. ...

References

Notes

Picture Post, a magazine that pioneered photojournalism along with its competitor Lilliput, was first published in the United Kingdom in 1938. ...

General References

External links

Contents

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