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Happy 168th Birthday, TR
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Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, at 28 East 20th Street in New York City. Today he turns 168. Add your name to his birthday card and share a wish for the world.
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How TR Spent His Birthdays
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He spent October 27 on a family tour of Europe, at his own wedding, on campaign trains, at sea, on safari and, in 1912, recovering from a gunshot wound. Follow his birthday year by year, from the brownstone on East 20th Street to the first Navy Day.
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 President Theodore Roosevelt on horseback, jumping over a fence, c. 1907 (Library of Congress)
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1869, age 11. On the family tour of Europe, he boarded a night train out of Berlin. It was the first of his birthdays that it snowed.
1880, age 22. He married Alice Hathaway Lee at the First Parish Church in Brookline, Massachusetts.
1898, age 40. Campaigning for governor of New York by train, he was presented a gold-headed ebony cane.
1908, age 50. He rode his jumping horse, Roswell, over the jumps in Rock Creek Park.
1918, age 60. His last birthday, a quiet day with family at Sagamore Hill.
1922. The first Navy Day was held on his birthday.
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TR’s Maltese Cross Comes Home
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Interim CEO Robbie Lauf with Angie Becker Kudelka of The Nature Conservancy and Joe Schettler, chairman of the North Dakota Brand Board, Oct. 23, 2026, in Medora
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Just in time for his birthday, The Nature Conservancy has transferred one of Roosevelt’s three original Maltese Cross livestock brand registrations to the Library, along with 32 related registrations. The Maltese Cross was the first brand TR owned, from the ranch he bought into in September 1883, about seven miles south of Medora. TNC cared for the registrations for more than four decades; the Library will now steward them here in the Badlands.
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In the Room Is Open
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The Library’s first guest exhibition, In the Room: Sixty Years on the Front Lines of History, is open. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Hume Kennerly came to Medora for the opening, with conversations with the artists, a book signing and a violin performance by his son, Nick. Hear from Kennerly himself.
Getting there took more than hanging photographs. Behind the scenes, the team cleaned scuff marks off walls, checked every line of text before the vinyl lettering went up, and learned how to hang French cleats.
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Architectural Design of the Year
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The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library has been named Architectural Design of the Year in the 2026 Architecture MasterPrize. Congratulations and thanks to Snøhetta, JLG Architects and Confluence.
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Taking TR on the Road
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Live from Bismarck
Governor Kelly Armstrong and Karl Rove joined Robbie Lauf, the Library’s interim CEO, for a public conversation at the University of Mary on October 9.
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At the Clinton Center
On October 21, interim CEO Robbie Lauf joined the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock to talk about the leadership of President Theodore Roosevelt.
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The first #TeddyCon. The Theodore Roosevelt Association and the Theodore Roosevelt Center brought scholars, authors, conservationists and Roosevelt enthusiasts to the Library for three days of conversations, tours and celebration.
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America the Beautiful on the Big Screen
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America the Beautiful: Our Natural Wonders, narrated by Kelsey Grammer, travels across the country’s mountains, plains, deserts, rivers and wetlands and meets the people who kept them wild. See it in the Library auditorium, November 12–25, Tuesday through Sunday at 2 p.m. Separate ticket required.
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A Tour Built Around Your Group
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Since the Signature Experience launched in September, Library staff have led 16 private tours. Each is a 90-minute visit built around a group’s interests and led by a staff expert. Recently, Addison Olson guided two brothers and their 95-year-old father through the Library, including its LEED, SITES and Living Building Challenge work. In their thank-you note, the family called it “a memory which honestly will take a long time to decompress.”
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Free Final Hour Starts November 1
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Take a first look, or come back for a favorite exhibit. Admission is free during the final hour of every day the Library is open, November 1 through April 30. Reserve a free timed ticket in advance.
Selected exhibits and tours are made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Host Your Event Here, 25% Off
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From November through May, event rental space at the Library is 25% off. Book a holiday party, a corporate gathering or a meeting in the Badlands.
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New to the Collection
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A signed Ranch Life and the Hunting-Trail. TR’s 1888 account of his Badlands years, illustrated by Frederic Remington, inscribed by Roosevelt on November 16, 1904, eight days after his election to a full term. Gift of Linda Beukenkamp.
A letter to Major Moseley. Typed and signed on Metropolitan magazine letterhead on May 23, 1917, after President Wilson refused the volunteer division Roosevelt hoped to lead, with Moseley as his chief of staff. Moseley’s own handwritten account is on the back. Gift of the Moseley family, delivered by Major Moseley’s son.
A Roosevelt sable. Taken in Selous, Tanzania, in August 2025 by Knox Kronenberg. Gift of the Kronenberg family and Jaco Oosthuizen.
Loans renewed. Frederic Remington’s A Bucking Bronco (c. 1888) and the Lincoln portrait remain on view.
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In the News
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From the Library Shop
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The Roosevelt Signature Hoodie just dropped online: a black fleece-blend hoodie with Theodore Roosevelt’s signature along the sleeve, $64.99. New hats arrive in the next few weeks.
Ever seen TR in a Santa hat? Holiday merchandise is arriving in the store for Museum Store Sunday (November 29) and Medora Cowboy Christmas (December 4–6), chosen to connect with Theodore Roosevelt, the Badlands and the Library’s stories.
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Also at the Library: Stagecoach and Bandits, Gold Edition, by Western sculptor and painter Laran Ghiglieri, is on display in the art gallery area of the store, on loan from Roger Minch of Fargo in memory of his parents, Adrian (Bob) and Lois Minch.
And at the Salt+Scoria café, the team’s custom-blended coffee syrups put something special in your cup.
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Become a Member in His Honor
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Memberships start at $50 and include free admission, early ticket access, member events and discounts in the Library Shop and at Salt+Scoria. A gift membership makes a meaningful holiday present, too.
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Contact Us · trlibrary.com
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
3410 Chateau Rd, Medora, ND 58645
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