I always knew the Teddy Bear’s connection to Roosevelt but I never knew exactly why. The short version: In late 1902, the President went bear-hunting in Mississippi, where black bears were plentiful. Despite that, Roosevelt was unable to shoot a single bear during the whole trip. At one point, one of his fellow hunters did indeed manage to catch a small (235 lb) bear, lassoed it and stunned it with a blow to the head, then tied it to a tree. He went to fetch the President, saying that he’d cornered a bear, but when Theodore saw that it was a young and disoriented cub, tied to a tree, he refused to shoot it, because it wasn’t a fair fight.

The story got out, and Roosevelt was commended for his compassion for the animal. An editorial cartoonist began drawing very popular images depicting the President and the bear he had saved (the drawing also had racial overtones as Roosevelt had angered Southern racists by dining with Booker T. Washington). With each picture, the bear grew cuter and cuddlier. By sheer coincidence that same winter, a German toymaker shipped 300 stuffed plush bears to FAO Schwartz toy store in Manhattan. They marketed them as “Teddy” bears at the height of the hunting story’s fame. The rest is history, and the name endures.

This ad is from 1907 — five years later and going strong in TR’s second term.

Oh, and, Roosevelt never liked the nickname Teddy. But he couldn’t shake it.